40 Donors Recruited To Date
JimmyTeens.tvWell a good start to the year! The London boat show was a great success, all of my existing sponsors would like to carry on supporting my new challeng. . .
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Last Tuesday my great friend David or 'Dangerous Dave' as i like to call him got taken into hospital due to a second brain haemorrhage. He's been gett. . .
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Dawn French
"Good luck Olly, you are an utter inspiration as well as being a totally hot dude!"
Timothy and Shane Spall (The Princess Matilda)
"The tiny Valiant yacht, Jolly Olly, came into the marina. Oliver Rofix the skipper is 25 and like my husband, the actor Timothy Spall, he has survived leukemia. "Olly's the valiant one!" Tim said the next day as Jolly Olly followed us out of Amble marina. The Princess Matilda weighing 35 tons, heading south and Olly going north. "I've seen bigger boats in Battersea boating lake!" Tim exclaimed. "Good luck Olly!" we both shouted as we waved him goodbye. "See you back in London." But Timothy and I know what treacherous times lie ahead of him. If you are lucky enough to meet up with Olly help him on his way. Food, fuel, a free berth, put cash in his bucket and if you know any man under 25, get them to have a simple blood test, it may save someone's life! "
Matt Hall (my donor)
"From the day I joined the register and gave a simple blood test, all I wanted to do was help save a life. My bone marrow donation caused me little discomfort and was a team effort by so many. My aim has been achieved through Olly and now I wish him all the best in the challenge that now lays ahead of him on the Jolly Olly."
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon
"I congratulate Oliver on his remarkable journey, which demonstrates how people can go on to live fulfilling, active lives after receiving a bone marrow transplant. But this shows just how important it is that we provide more opportunities for people to register as volunteer bone marrow donors. The partnership between the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) and the Anthony Nolan Trust provides SNBTS with the opportunity to promote the bone marrow register to the 1,000 donors who give blood every day."
Rick Stein
The Wurzels
Pete Townshend
Sarah Donohue
"I was introduced to Olly at Cowes Powerboat week which is my usual haunt at the end of August. He had a few questions on sponsorship so was directed towards me as I've been racing Powerboats for 17 years. We spoke briefly, but that evening I couldn’t stop thinking about Olly and his plight. I’ve worked tirelessly for charities for years and thought maybe I could help just a little bit more than just advice. Olly by chance was outside China China where the whole of our team were eating with many Chinese Diplomats and a full house from the Chinese Embassy. Olly was welcomed in and for some reason Olly is in all our team shots and even on footage broadcast to China!! Way to go Olly! I even seem to remember an XFactor semi finalist who was singing at the restaurant having her photo taken with him! I have to say Olly, you make my powerboat crash seem like a walk in the park and I’ll be helping you however I can. I hope more people get involved with your Quest and help however ever they can. You are an inspiration, as well as being very hot... I miss you already, you have so much to give x"
Jimmy Buchan (Skipper of Amity 2 'Trawler Men')
I asked Jimmy if he would like to come sailing... He replied "I wouldn't cross the Bay in this tiny boat, let alone take round the country! But I admire what your doing." Comforting I thought, a trawler man who's used to the hardest of seas wouldn't cross the Peterhead Harbour Bay in the Jolly Olly.
David Suchet
"Stem cell donors save lives. Olly is the proof!! Please come forward. Wish you all the best of luck on your travels."
Geoff Holt MBE, record-breaking disabled yachtsman: "Having sailed around GB myself a few years ago, I know exactly how tough this is for Olly. But in many ways, what he is doing is not about the sailing, it is about demonstrating the determination and perseverance of the human spirit. Overcoming leukaemia was Olly's first greatest challenge. His circumnavigation of GB is his current challenge. We look forward to hearing what he has planned for the future"
This could happen to anyone . . .
Back in 2005 I was having a great summer - I sailed, water-skied, partied and enjoyed myself as do most 20 year olds. I was very fit and in early July climbed and then ran up Snowdon with my mates, just for fun!
Summer 2005 before Diagnosis
Late in July, I woke early with a severe headache and could not get out of bed to go to work, where I was enjoying the 2nd year of an engineering apprenticeship. I was quickly admitted to hospital with presumed meningitis, and later in the day was diagnosed with Glandular Fever. Phew! Thank goodness... Back to work in a few days and just slow down for a while.
This is me in A&E on the night I found out
A month later my GP requested that I go to the surgery for a routine blood test. I had been feeling rather tired and lethargic for the past week or so, and went along on the Friday morning. Within 10 hours I was in hospital having been told I had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
This was September 9th. I remember the day so well. Leukaemia.... what is it? sounds serious - am I going to die?
Until you yourself, or another member of your family or friend have a rare illness, you can be totally unaware of what it means or its implications. This was the beginning of endless days and hours spent in Somersham Ward and the oncology day unit at Ipswich Hospital. Chemotherapy, blood transfusions, blood tests, injections...more injections, more drugs. During this time the doctors told me that there were two types of Leukaemia; ALL and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).
Theresa and I eating fish & chips in Somersham Ward
They said to me I was lucky to have the less aggressive of the two types because survival rates are considerably higher. Good news. Within the same month of being told this the same doctor told me that my type of Leukaemia had changed from ALL to AML. Bad news. It was then decided to crack on with the treatment for both types of Leukaemia. Unfortunately this meant for me, more of the things that to this day I still hate needles! (Bone marrow tests and weekly lumbar punctures).
I was lucky. I sailed through my early days of treatment.
A Hickman Line
My health deteriorated during November and I was back in hospital with pleurisy and then pneumonia. This was the most excruciatingly painful infection I have ever had. This was a close call.
This was how most of my treatment was administered, through a Hickman Line. About 4mm in diameter it goes through My chest into my heart. I had it for about 18 months.
During the course of treatment for the AML, which was then going well, a research centre in Germany had developed a new test which looked closer at Leukaemia cells. Sadly for me this test brought some more bad news showing the Leukaemia I had wasn't quite ALL nor AML. I was told that I was the third person to be diagnosed with this and sadly the other two were no longer alive.
I was told that my best hope of survival and cure would be a bone marrow transplant from a donor that shared the same tissue type. My brother Reece was tested but unfortunately was not a match. In fact, there is just a one in four chance of a sibling being a bone marrow match and just a 30% chance that a match will be found within a patient's family at all. So 70% of people in need of a bone marrow transplant rely on the generosity of strangers who have joined The Anthony Nolan register.
Having my stem cells taken
I was admitted to Addenbrookes Hospital in December and met the Transplant team, who took stem cells from me while in remission as a back up and bone marrow tests to search the national and international donor registers, for a suitable donor.
The Christmas of 2005 was an oh so real Christmas, will there be a donor? Will the transplant work? Could this be my last Christmas?
Early in February Anthony Nolan, in a search of unrelated donors worldwide, found two donors, one in the UK and one in USA. The American donor was not of the same blood group and the UK donor had a virus called CMV. The transplant team at Addenbrookes hospital decided that the UK donor was a perfect match but the virus was a very serious risk. Yet as my consultant said 'pre-warned is pre-armed'. With that confidence from the doctor I did not want to waste any time.
I was due to start treatment on February 20th, 2006 in order to receive the transplant on 27th but due to a dose of flu I was devastated to hear this was postponed until 20th March. I had the time to think very carefully and research more on Bone Marrow Transplants.
The boat (a Valiant 18) - 'Jolly Olly'
It was then I realized the seriousness of the situation. To me it was still full steam ahead. I had to stay focused but more importantly positive on the hard times that were to come. There are 16,000 people worldwide currently in this situation - in need of a bone marrow transplant - who are trying to focus on the positive and hope that their match will have joined the Anthony Nolan register.
I bought an old sailing boat which needed renovating. This was my incentive to get through the transplant so I could work and sail my boat around my local coast over the several years it would take to recover.
In hospital I could then plan what I had to do, how to do it to make my mind focus on getting better.
With my new boat safely at home, I was prepared for what was to come.
Donor cells going in
In the afternoon of March 19th 2006 I was admitted into Addenbrookes, Ward C10, Room 2 where the following day treatment began.
Twice a day for 4 days I underwent Total Body Irradiation.
Then for 2 days I received intensive chemotherapy. This was to destroy my immune system and bone marrow to later be replaced by the bone marrow from my donor.
Just three days after my 21st birthday, a big bag of bone marrow came into my room and was connected to the drip. This was it.
Certainly the best present I had!
I spent 8 long weeks in isolation in Addenbrookes Hospital where I learnt the horrific effects of intense radio and chemotherapy. It was immensely painful. My girlfriend Theresa who was studying A levels took a year out to be with me, as she had been from diagnosis. It was a long time to be in isolation but most of the time I was extremely unwell and just made the most of the wonderful attention I had from Theresa and the nurses! My days were made brighter and more personal by decorating my room with cards and letters, bursting with get well wishes and news, received from fellow travelers, friends and friends of friends whom I have never met.
The treatment was very aggressive and so very much tougher than I thought it was going to be. Having lost my appetite and a lot of weight, I knew I had a lot of hard work ahead of me to build up my strength for the summer ahead.
The drugs made me continually sick and to walk 10 metres seemed like a mile. Although out of hospital, I was back every other day for three months. The treatment to combat the CMV and keep my immune system suppressed was still very intense. I began to regain some strength. Then I was back in hospital with shingles.
My dad and friends who renovated the hull of my boat
When I felt really down, I would imagine the sheer delight of my boat on the river at Aldeburgh, my mates, a pint of Adnams and fish and chips!
I have so many friends, colleagues and of course my family to thank for their help, kindness and support during those long months of illness. Firstly, of course, my donor, without him I would not be writing this today.
A huge thank you to my father Lee and good friend Ben Walker who spent 8 long weeks, whilst I was having my transplant, renovating the hull on the boat.
Also the wonderful team of nurses and consultants both at Ipswich Hospital and Addenbrookes, and their endless hours of dedication and encouragement.
Raising over £10,000 for Anthony Nolan
My former headmaster of Woodbridge School must be congratulated for his magnificent achievement in completing the London Marathon, raising over £10,000 for Anthony Nolan.
I must also remember the wonderful and courageous friends I have made and some sadly lost during the last 4 years through
CLIC Sargent and the
Teenage Cancer Trust.
Click to read Hannah's Story or David's Story or Richard's Story
This is me jumping for joy off the slopes in Austria almost 1 year to the second after my transplant.
Over the past years and months I have improved leaps and bounds. I have gained weight and stamina. I now attend for check ups every three months. I consider myself to be truly lucky to have survived such a dreadful disease.
I had a rare and still undiagnosed Leukaemia and was invited to take part in a research study because of this rarity. The study is organised by the Department of Haematology at the University of Cambridge and is funded by the Leukaemia research fund.
I wouldn't be here without my donor and there are so many other people who might not be here if their match doesn't join the Anthony Nolan register.
You, and only you, could be their only hope for survival. Please don't hesitate in signing up to join the register. You will be asked for a small sample of blood, which will be tested, and your details will be stored on a confidential database. You can find out more by visiting the Anthony Nolan website or calling 020 7284 1234. You could save someone's life.