Rollinson family prepare for their Cup Final

Lucille Rollinson, the mother of Glasshoughton Welfare winger Connor and Worsbrough Bridge youngster Calan, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in October. She has had three intense rounds of chemotherapy and is now waiting to have her bone marrow transplant as a match has been found. Fittingly published on World Cancer Day, this is her and family’s story:

Picture the scene. Glasshoughton Welfare have just been beaten on penalties by Thackley in the West Riding County Cup. No-one is downbeat, the league is more important. In the corner of the visitors’ changing room, one of the Glasshoughton players has tears uncontrollably streaming down his face. That’s not because of the defeat, but because his world was turned upside five days earlier.

“There are occasions when emotion overcomes you and you have to let it out,” Connor Rollinson, 25, says, opening the discussion.

“One of the first times that happened we had just lost a penalty shootout and I came in afterwards and I just sat down and just started crying. There was a few new lads in there and I think they assumed I was crying because we had lost on penalties It wasn’t, it was because of my Mam.”

Next week there could be more, but for positive reasons. Worsbrough Bridge’s home game against Glasshoughton Welfare next Saturday may not roll off the tongue as a glamorous fixture. For the Rollinson family, it is their FA Cup Final.

With Lucille, 47, home from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield for two weeks, the timing is beyond perfect as footballers Connor and Calan are going to be on opposing sides.

The two clubs and the Rollinson’s have chosen to turn the fixture into a ‘Show Your Support for Luce’ day. Bucket collections for Leukaemia UK, and players wearing t-shirts displaying ‘Showing Our Support for Luce’ during the warm-up are notable aspects of the planned day.

The whole family are united behind the idea, because as her beloved husband Craig says: “If this article and the game next week does anything, I hope it puts more awareness of the symptoms out there.”

Lucille is sat in the living room of her bungalow in Lundwood, an area of Barnsley, surrounded by Craig and her doting sons Connor and Calan, reflecting on her and her family’s annus horribilis.

They are determined to prevent others going through the same nightmare that began for them during mid-afternoon on Thursday 5th October 2017.

When AML, a strain of Leukaemia which affected 3,126 new people in 2015, was confirmed the following day, the doctors revealed that the disease had penetrated 89% of her bones. Lucille has proved herself as a fighter as she in remission from cancer after three gruelling rounds of chemotherapy and is preparing for a bone marrow transplant which she hopes will put her on the path back to normality. All the family know how critical the timing of the diagnosis was.

“A nurse said to me last week that with what the blasts were at the beginning and how bad I was, she didn’t think I would have lasted a few more weeks without treatment,” Lucille says.

The family share their anger of their belief that AML should have been caught earlier. The initial footprints to Lucille’s story are traced back to the summer. Suffering from various aliments for months, constant visits to her GP failed to persuade them that there was a major problem, until it was almost too late.

“I knew there was something seriously wrong,” she says.

“I told Craig that I feel like I’m dying. He just said don’t be daft. I said that I feel like my blood is attacking me. I also confided to Connor’s girlfriend Mollie when we went on holiday to Whitby in September that I knew I was seriously ill.

“At times I thought it was just me being overtired. I found when I was taking the dogs for a walk

“I’m quite fit and I found that I was getting out of breath really easily. This was at the start of the dog’s walk and I was feeling like an old man. I was that tired that I was sleeping with my coat on.

“The first problem I ever had was anaemic and fatigue. I’d had a problem with anaemia before because I have low red blood cells so they thought it was just that. They were convinced it was nothing to do with anything else.

“I went back to the doctors saying I didn’t feel well and I had a rash on my face, but they put that down to my make-up and said I was allergic to it – even though I have used it all the time.

“Then I went back because my teeth were hurting and my gums were bleeding. But I was told that I had a dental problem. I went another time to say my stomach is swelling, especially on an evening. My neck then swelled up, but the doctor didn’t think there was anything wrong with my throat.

“I think the doctors thought I was being a bit of a hypochondriac. I knew there was a problem and I kept insisting that there was and it is a good job I did.”

Apart from a few days at home in November, a few at Christmas and for the next two weeks, the Royal Hallamshire Hospital has been her permanent residence since October. Although convinced she was seriously ill, nothing could prepare her for being uprooted in the brutal manner she was.

“Because I had been going to the doctors with problems, I was having a few tests to determine whether it was a viral infection or something more serious,” she says.

“I had been at work before having another test at the doctors and after I left they rung me to say they had found Leukaemia in my blood. They said come back and pick a letter up and then go up to Barnsley Hospital. I went from going to the doctors to pick up the letter and not coming home for two months.

“When I went to pick up a letter, they said pack an overnight bag so I thought I would be home for the weekend. It was quite a big shock. I stayed at Barnsley Hospital for three nights and once as I got the Sheffield Hallamshire on the Sunday, they put me on chemo straightaway.

“Although the Hospital has been fantastic, I wouldn’t say I haven’t had a little cry on my own because there have been times when I have.

“Being in the hospital, especially on my own, it can be really lonely. So there has been times when myself and Craig have been down in the dumps, but we have made sure that Connor and Calan haven’t seen that we are.”

Calan and Connor have still witnessed a lot. Watching their “Mam” go through the side-effects, associated with AML, have been tough for them to take

“The side-effects have affected me massively,” Connor says.

“She’s lost her hair, her skin has changed dramatically, some days she looks like she has been thrown in a fire. She has black nails, her eyes are bloodshot. She gets something called mucositis due to the chemotherapy which affects all of her esophagus and stomach. She can’t swallow or eat for around a week.

“Sometimes when you look at her, she doesn’t even look like my Mam. The chemotherapy has got more intense as it has gone on and the worst one was probably the last one. There was one day when I went to the hospital and I was sat there and I couldn’t lift my head up to even look at her. Every-time I did, it made me upset.

“At the beginning I cried a lot. I haven’t become accustomed to it, but I have tried to control my emotions as time has gone on.”

Still, Connor, a member of the Primary Care Team at Springwell Learning Community, reserves the minute his “Mam” was told the news as his lowest moment of the last four months, adding that it will be ingrained in his mind forever.

“The worst bit for me, other than all the side-effects, was that Friday morning,” Connor says.

“When we went to Barnsley Hospital, even though we had a suspicion she had it, there was still a bit of hope that they had got it wrong. The most surreal bit for me and the bit which will stay with me forever is when the lady doctor came in and told my Mam that she had cancer. They said they were more than 90% sure it was Leukaemia. I started crying and I couldn’t stop. It was and is the worst day of my life.

“My Mam didn’t cry. She had tears in her eyes, she just said to the nurse that she had been expecting it.”

Calan jumps in and reinforces his brother’s comments, nothing how courageous his “Mam” was in the life-changing moment.

“What got me was when we were in Barnsley Hospital and the doctor was talking about the process and treatment and I don’t think she sounded too optimistic,” Calan adds.

“But my Mam just said ‘bring it on’, like it was nothing. She has been extremely brave and strong, and I’m really proud of her, like my dad and Connor are.”

Despite all the trauma, there have been rays of sunshine. Calan graduated from Barnsley College in November with a 2:2 in Physical Education. Despite the odds, Lucille made it and was able to have a now cherished picture with her son with his University gown on.

Christmas is Connor’s proudest moment. It was touch and go whether she would be home. She was and the family made it one of their best Christmases ever.

Lucille being home for two weeks is respite for Craig and the brothers. The commute, done around their full-time jobs, from Barnsley to Sheffield is testing. Craig visits every day, while Connor and Calan travel over a few times a week to see Lucille.

Craig, a branch manager for SIG Interiors in Leeds, and Lucille were childhood sweethearts before going their separate ways in their late teens. Their romance would later be rekindled and they have been married for 14 years of the 26 years they have been living together.

The last few months have proved just how much they care about each other. Craig’s daily routine is long. He gets up at five in the morning to do the washing and take the dogs out for a walk.

He then drives to work in Leeds, near Elland Road, and when he finishes work, he heads from there to Sheffield to visit Lucille. He leaves his wife at 6.30pm to make the hour-long journey home.

It must test him to the brink and make him tired, but Craig dismisses the notion.

“I don’t think I look tired,” Craig says, shooting down the question. “People who haven’t seen me for a while say I look ill. If Connor hasn’t seen me for a week, he usually says I look ill.

“But, you can’t complain about being tired when someone is fighting for their life.”

The moment she was diagnosed, Lucille ordered Calan and Connor to continue with their lives with as much as normality as possible.

Football has proved to be an excellent way for Connor and Calan to escape from reality. Calan plays for Worsbrough, whilst also coaching with his old team-mate Luke Forgione’s Barnsa Academy.

Since October, Connor has established himself as a key player in the play-off chasing Glasshoughton side. Also a month prior to Lucille’s diagnosis, he set up a sports coaching business which centres on being one of the two lead coaches for the Pontefract Pirates and Nostell Miners Welfare Disability Football teams.

The trio clealy have busy schedules, but Connor insists they are following their mum’s wishes.

“I don’t want people reading this, thinking we don’t spend time with her because we do,” he says.

“I think myself, my dad and Calan have shown huge strength, massively, to carry on.

“A lot of people would have given up what they were doing and just stopped. Life has to go on and that’s what my Mam wanted us to do. If we had, we would have got depressed and that would have done her no good whatsoever.

“Within four days of being diagnosed, she told me to carry on and play in the match at Thackley. I’m glad I listened to her.

“Although I was captain of Worsbrough last season which carried a lot of responsibility, I would say during the last four months playing for Glasshoughton I have been more focussed than I ever have before since I started playing. Playing has done me the world of good.

“I have my Mam in the back of my mind before I start every start. I say to myself that I need to perform for my Mam. That’s a bit of a cliche, but that’s what I do. I always think if my Mam can win what she’s going through then we can win this match.

“A lot of people also know that I’m heavily involved with Disability Football and I think when you’re coaching you can express yourself and being able to give something back to people who may be less fortunate is a huge stress reliever. I’m sure Calan would agree with me on both fronts.”

Calan nods in agreement and they go on to agree that until their mum’s diagnosis, they had never raised funds for charity or championed a good cause.

Connor has become a supporter of the Anthony Nolan Trust, the long-standing charity which appeals for people to donate bone marrow or blood stem cells. He registered himself as a donor and wants other to follow his lead.

“We knew from the start that she might need a match for bone marrow,” Connor says, explaining how he came into contact with the organisation.

“My mum’s sister (Tracey Barrett) got tested (to see whether she was a match for Lucille) so that’s when I decided to register myself. I wouldn’t have registered myself a year ago, but that’s because I wouldn’t have been aware of it.

“What I want to say is that people assume that giving bone marrow is painful. That’s what puts a lot of people off. That is a misconception. Nine out of ten people who do it, it is simply through giving blood. One of my personal aims from all this is to encourage other people to register themselves.”

His brother went down a different route. He chose to raise money for charity. Two days after his mum was diagnosed, Calan, a teaching assistant at Shawlands Primary School, chose to raise money for Cancer Research UK by shaving off his precious locks.

“I used to look at Cancer adverts and think ‘it will never happen to us’,” Calan says.

“I would have never have shaved my head to raise money for Cancer Research before, but when my Mam got diagnosed, I just thought I didn’t want to sit back, I wanted to do something.

“It felt like it was my responsibility to do something and I didn’t want my Mam to feel alone, so by doing it, it felt like we were going into the fight together. We knew straightaway that she would lose her hair so I thought we could be bald together. It was the least I could do.

“I also wanted to cheer her up for a few days by shaving my head. It certainly did and she was really proud of me.”

The shave brought in over £1400. The brothers between them have since raised a further £400 through other fundraising methods, with some going to the ward that Lucille is on.

Now they have the opportunity to add to the tally, although that’s not the whole aim of the support day.

Husband Craig hopes next Saturday will make more people aware of the symptoms that indicate AML – and highlight his belief that GPs have a lack of knowledge of them.

“I, personally, have gone through every emotion under the sun, from shock, to anger, to despair, to self-pity in the past few months,” Craig says.

“This is a terrible disease which people don’t realise is happening to them.

“I saw Lucille go through tiredness of different degrees, which is one of the symptoms. From being slightly tired to being a zombie. Before it entered our four walls, I didn’t realise AML was as widespread or as severe as it actually is.

“A lot of people think ‘oh Leukaemia, you can get cured from that’. Well it is not that simple.

“I don’t think GPs realise the symptoms and I think it is an issue. If you read the (TV presenter) Simon Thomas story, it is so reflective of our story because like us, their GP was sending his wife home without the right advice.

“We’re in the North, Simon Thomas is in the South so it looks like a widespread problem in regard to GP advice.”

The idea of a ‘Support Day’ was Connor’s, once as he realised that his “Mam” would be out of Hospital during the week when Glasshoughton play Worsbrough. He sought the permission of both clubs who agreed without a second thought.

“I thought it would be fitting that with Calan playing for Worsbrough, it would be a good way support my Mam,” he adds.

“(Glasshoughton joint managers) Lee Vigars and Darren Holmes said it was a brilliant idea. It went from there. James (Grayson), (Glasshoughton Welfare chairman) Jon Miles, (Worsbrough vice-captain) Mark (Booth) and everyone at Worsbrough have all helped to make sure the day will hopefully be a success and we’ll achieve what we want.

“It just shows that when something serious happens, people step up to the plate to help.”

Will he be knocking seven bells out of his brother once as the first whistle sounds? Connor mulls over the question before adding: “It will be strange playing against Calan, and it is definitely going to be emotional. That’s it really.”

Connor stops talking and allows Lucille to fittingly have the final word.

“The support we have received as a family has been overwhelming,” she adds. “Not just to myself, but from Craig’s work colleagues, Connor’s work colleagues and Calan’s work colleagues, along with all our friends and family.

“Like me, they have faced a lot, but we have come through it so far and I hope next Saturday will raise a lot of awareness of what I’ve gone though, I really do.”

The battle between Worsbrough and Glasshoughton is just one of a few more that the Rollinson’s still have to face, as Lucille will have her bone marrow transplant soon.

But based on how she has fought AML, it is one she is very capable of winning.

If you are unable to attend the Lucille Rollinson ‘Support Day’ when Worsbrough Bridge host Glasshoughton Welfare or are touched by her story and would like to make a donation to Leukaemia UK in her name, you can donate via a JustGiving page set up on the family’s behalf.

You would like to learn more about the Anthony Nolan Trust, visit their website HERE.