The 2nd April 2021 will be forever etched in our memory. Good Friday morning.
A beautiful sun drenched start to the day but news filtered through quickly that a loving Husband, Father and Grandad had taken a turn for the worse in the night, passing peacefully in front our eyes, just a few hours later. A truly devastating experience but one the majority of us will likely endure at some point in our lifetime.
Tom Topping, a loving Husband, Father and Grandad
It’s been nine incredibly tough months since for us all individually and as a family however one thing that we will never let fade is the amazing memories of our dearest late Husband, Daddy and Nanda; Tom Topping.
It turns out Tom/Daddy/Nanda had a rare blood cancer called Myelodysplastic syndromes. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are conditions that can occur when the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow become abnormal. This leads to low numbers of one or more types of blood cells. The annual incidence of MDS is estimated at 4 per 100,000, but incidence increases with age. Tom/Daddy/Nanda had only turned 70 when he was in hospital.
We had all guessed there had to be an underlying issue somewhere. A seemingly fit and healthy man couldn’t just pass away in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Unfortunately though with this disease he did so as other infections took their toll and we never got to find out what that underlying issue was until just recently.
When Tom/Daddy/Nanda was in hospital we didn’t avail directly of any cancer support services however as a family would like to help raise awareness of Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and to do that we will fundraising for two related charities namely Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI (LLNI) and MDS UK Patient Support Group. Our goal is to raise a minimum of £1000 for each charity.
Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI (LLNI) funds research into the causes and cures of leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma right here in Northern Ireland. The LLNI research strategy is based on the study of cancers that develop from blood stem cells. The charity aims to improve our understanding of the causes and the factors controlling their development and progress by laboratory studies.
MDS UK Patient Support Group provide Support, Information, Awareness & Campaigns for those affected by Myelodysplastic Syndromes throughout the UK and Northern Ireland.
Over the next few months we will be running a number of fundraising events as a family culminating in a Marathon run at the Belfast City Marathon on Sunday 1st May 2022 by Toms youngest son Adam. We hope you will support us in our fundraising efforts.
Please see attached a link to our Official fundraising page. Alternatively you can pass any donations to either Carol, David, Kelly, Gary or Adam.
Thanking you in advance,
The Topping Family
