Earlier this year, on 16 April 2018 Edwin Friend sadly passed away after a lengthy battle with Leukaemia. Recently his wife, Jill Friend and their daughter Kathryn Preece donated an amazing £1,000.93 for Solihull Hospital Charity in memory of Ed. 

Ed had been a blood donor for over 25 years, his family doctor at the time asked if he would take part in a trial. Ed always agreed to any such requests, so he went along to be tested prior to the research. That was in January 2000. Out of the blue he was contacted and sadly told the news that  he had Leukaemia. Ed then began his regular visits to Ward 19, a cancer unit at Heartlands Hospital. Ed was told that he had Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) and over the years there were many periods of remission and regular medication meaning that Ed lived a very full life.

By 2012 his health had deteriorated especially his energy levels and by the end of 2013 he had his first cycle of chemotherapy. It took a while to recover from this but he was able to live a normal life again, enjoying holidays with his wife Jill, pursuing his many interests and spending time with his five grandchildren. At Christmas 2016 Ed deteriorated once again and his condition caused concern. In early 2017 he was offered the chance of a bone marrow transplant which he readily accepted and so after months of preparation and many blood transfusions Ed had the transplant on 12 October 2017.Initially things looked positive, Ed even showed signs that his body had accepted the transplant. However in December 2017 things took a turn for the worse with his CLL changing to Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). Sadly, after many hospital admissions Ed passed away on the 16 April 2018.

Ed had specified that he wished any donations to be divided between the Marie Curie Hospice and the new Haematology and Oncology Day Unit at Solihull Hospital. Over the 18 years of treatment, Manos Nikolousis, Consultant Haematologist and Clinical Director Haematology/Oncology and Ed were very well aquatinted. Manos had been discussing with Ed for some time about his dreams to build a new day care facility for Solihull Hospital, Ed was really keen to see it up and running so he could attend there instead of traveling over to Heartlands Hospital. Sadly, it was not to be and Ed died just before the new Haematology and Oncology Day Unit was opened.

Jill Friend said:  “We decided as a family that Ed would have liked the money to go to the new Solihull Day Unit as he had followed Manos’s progress with this project with interest.

“Ed could see how stressful it was for all the staff working with constant pressures and limited conditions so he welcomed the development of a Ward 19 outpost at Solihull Hospital and he was looking forward to using it. He would have been delighted that some of the donations in his memory would go to this new development.

Throughout all of these treatments Ed was full of praise for all the staff on Ward 19 at Heartlands Hospital. He had a wonderful personality and quickly developed a rapport and respect with everyone he met, from the cleaning staff to the consultants. He made everyone feel at ease and was genuinely interested in what people did and had to say.”

Ed’s daughter Kathryn said: “We had 18 years of experiencing staff care, mainly in Heartlands, also in Solihull and finally in Marie Curie. Dad had nothing but praise for all of the staff involved and the care he received.  As a family we were treated with compassion and care by the staff on Ward 19 and I was very impressed, and pleased, with how they also built a rapport with my Mum over the many years that she accompanied Dad to the clinic.  Even though nursing staff are under great pressure they still had time for a smile and joke with Dad and that is important in making people feel like an individual not just another case”

Samantha Howell, Fundraising Manager at Solihull Hospital Charity said: “Thank you so much to the Friend family who donated this generous amount of money to the Haematology and Oncology Day Unit at Solihull Hospital.

“The money raised will go towards ‘added extras’ for the patients on the unit which go over and above what the NHS fund.”

To donate to the Charity’s Cancer Appeal, please click here

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