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Young Barnsley dad left millimetres from death after ignoring migraines before sinister turn
A young Barnsley dad who received a devastating diagnosis has told how he was millimetres from death after ignoring migraines which turned out to be a tumour.
Taylor Gregory, 19, works as a forklift driver for a Sheffield agricultural firm and tried to push through the pain when he suffered a bout of migraines in April. After mustering the strength to go for a night out on his birthday in the middle of the month, his symptoms worsened and he was forced to take time off.
After the terrifying experience of waking up unable to breath and collapsing, Taylor was convinced to take his symptoms more seriously and attended hospital. The 19-year-old was eventually given the devastating news that he was suffering from lymphoma cancer with a tumour sitting above his heart and in his neck.
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Taylor said: “For a week I was suffering from these bad migraines, I didn’t think much of it so I just tried to work through the pain. It was only after my birthday weekend on the 16th that things started to get serious.
“I’d gone out for it and in the end I couldn’t go to work for a week afterwards. I woke up in the morning and I couldn’t breathe, my mum called an ambulance but in the end they decided not to take me in.
“Things went downhill from there, I wasn’t feeling great, I was struggling to breath and nearly passing out all through the day. They took me to the hospital and I collapsed and passed out in the waiting room.
“The doctors didn’t say the word cancer at first, it wasn’t described like that but I know what it is now. I’ve just started chemotherapy and it has just taken it out of me, it has really just hit home and feels real now with my hair starting to thin out.
“I feel completely wiped out all the time, the doctors said I’ll be in treatment for at least three months so realistically it will be more like nine until I’m back working. They said if I’d left it any longer to get seen I could have been dead, I was four millimetres from the tumour blocking my windpipe.”
Taylor lives with his partner Bunni and his one-year-old son River who he is now having to support on sick pay. He was previously helping support his mum who is recovering from a serious back injury but his precarious situation has meant he is currently unable to do so.
Speaking about River, Taylor said: “He’s grown so much. He’s not a cheap baby, he loves his food, he loves a bit of a Sunday dinner and we try to take him out for a carvery when we can
“He’s ace. He’s one year and two months old now and he is growing up so fast. I’m doing as much with him now while I can, we’ve been out to Clifton Park today and he’s had a great time of it.”
To help support River and his family during his battle with cancer, Taylor has reluctantly set up a GoFundMe, saying he didn’t really like the idea of asking but had nowhere else to turn. Taylor said: “At the moment, with the sick pay, I’m down to £100 a week and things are so expensive.
“It isn’t just putting food on the table, the cost of the nappies and the wipes, it seems to have shot up. With him growing so quickly we’re also going through clothes and shoes quickly which I’ve never had to buy before.
“I think it is starting to hit home that I’m not going to be able to work like a did for a while and I just needed to do something to help my family. I’m lucky they are all here supporting me but it is going to be a struggle for us all.”
To see more about Taylors journey or to support his fundraising, you can visit the GoFundMe page here.
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