As a student of Preston College, John Darwen was taking more and more time off, feeling lethargic and unable to attend his classes. However, it was one day where the student felt so unwell, his mum took him to see a GP and the family soon found out what was really going on.
"His mum was with him the whole time and he underwent chemotherapy and lost a lot of weight. He was also neutropenic, so he had no antibodies and had to be in isolation." James, 37, officially became a part of the family when he married John's sister, Samantha, after proposing to her whilst John was still in hospital. He said: "I was very nervous, but it was obviously a yes."
"He then eventually started exploring what he wanted to do more long-term and started a few courses at Uni. Now, he's in his third and final year training to be an Occupational Therapist at UCLan - a dream come true for him when he qualifies." Nowadays, John is "much stronger" than his brother-in-law and has become somewhat of a celebrity in their Preston gym with the heavy weights he's able to lift. "He's in a fit bill of health now," James added.