Brave Adam loses his fight for life (From Western Telegraph)

Brave Adam loses his fight for life

PEMBROKESHIRE is saddened by the loss of one of its favourite sons, Adam Evans-Thomas, who had fought optimistically and courageously against leukaemia for ten years. He finally lost that battle on Thursday at 3.30am at the Heath Hospital, Cardiff.

Adam, the son of Martin and Chris Evans-Thomas, of Bramble Hall, Sutton, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia at the age of 25 - a terrible shock for a fit, energetic young man. But he refused to be bound by the illness and fought to live a normal life, despite many setbacks during those years.

He was educated at Burton VC School and Tasker-Milward Comprehensive School and, following diagnosis of cancer, went on to obtain an HND from Pembrokeshire College while working as an electronics engineer for British Rail.

Most amazingly, he graduated from the college with an electronics degree, which was administered by the University of Wales. His final written exams were taken while he underwent chemotherapy in the sterile unit of the bon e marrow transplant unit in the Heath Hospital, during an autologous transplant. Such was his determination and stamina that HTV's 'Wales this Week' rigged out his sterile bubble with a mini camera, which he operated. The programme that resulted - full of optimism and determination - was called 'Leukaemia - Adam's Diary', which went on to win a silver award from the BMA.

Adam had previously appeared in another documentary for the British Bone Marrow Donor Appeal. His fundraising over the short span of his life raised £45,000 towards the cost of DNA testing and helped put over 3,000 Pembrokeshire names on the Blood Donor Bank. This feat resulted in 19 bone marrow donors being found in Pembrokeshire.

His illness took him through many peaks and troughs. Following a monumental battle last year through septicaemic shock and then legionnaire's disease, he recovered knowing that he was classified as the first patient to survive legionnaire's disease while in a neutropaenic state - no immunity whatsoever.

His friends and relatives expected him to bounce back from surgery to remove his spleen - sadly this was not to be. Anyone who came into contact with Adam will never forget him, because he never failed to touch their lives in some way.

ADAM'S friends have requested a tribute concert for him and the date has been set for September 18th at Folly Farm. The proceeds will go to the Bucketful of Hope Appeal. For further information, contact Ian Evans on 01834 810032.

The name of the appeal was taken from the comment made about his consultant, Dr Saleem, at her retirement tribute concert at St David's Cathedral - a concert he was due to speak at, on behalf of all Pembrokeshire patients, but missed due to his stay in Cardiff. At the concert it was said that she 'gave a thimbleful of bad news with a bucketful of hope'.

Adam set himself the task of raising £50,000 for an extension of the Ward 10 hospital day unit, Withybush Hospital, for those patients returning home from hospitals after acute treatment and also for facilities in the bone marrow transplant unit at the Heath Hospital, where most of Withybush patients are admitted for intensive treatments. To date, Adam had raised almost £9,500.