Canine Companion for Cancer Thriver Mark

“Today is going to be a great day!”

These are the first words I hear every morning when my husband wakes me with a cup of coffee and a big smile!!

Hi! I’m Jess and this is my best friend; my beautiful, brave husband Mark.

Mark is an incredible man with an inspirational story, which I’d love to share with you. It is a story of hope, humility, strength and resilience and a lesson to us all in how to face and overcome adversity with grace and good humour.

I have created this page to raise some funds which will be put towards a canine companion for Mark, as he rebuilds his physical and psychological well-being following two and a half years (and still ongoing) of gruelling cancer treatment.

I do hope you’ll take some time to read about, and be inspired by, Mark and then consider a small donation towards a longed-for and much-needed four-legged friend; a “One-Day-Dog” that has been a beacon of hope for Mark during many dark nights of the soul.

Mark is a veteran. For 17 years he served Queen and country, having joined the British Royal Air Force at 19. Following several challenging deployments overseas, Mark took voluntary redundancy in 2006 and decided to re-train as a plumber.

All was going well for Mark until 2012 and the day he decided to single-handedly carry a heavy bath up some stairs; an agonizing pain in his back turned out to be a herniated disc and resulted in major spinal surgery. Undeterred, and with some fancy metal-work installed in his back, Mark returned to work within 3 months, now with a young apprentice to help lift those heavy baths!

Five years later, in June 2017, life for Mark took an unexpected turn. As he was driving to work, after a perfectly ordinary start to the day, he was involved in a horrific head-on collision. The force and combined speed of the impact destroyed every single power tool and piece of equipment in Mark’s van (and boy, does he love a power tool!) but miraculously Mark survived the crash without any serious physical injuries. He kicked his way out of his van and rescued the other, injured driver from her car before he collapsed at the side of the road.

When Mark called me from the ambulance, en route to hospital, his first thought was for me – he begged me not to cancel a medical appointment that I had scheduled for that morning. His second thought was for the customer that he was on his way to see. This says everything about Mark’s love and care for me and his dedication and commitment to his work. I have never met a more conscientious soul.

Mark recovered quickly from his physical wounds but the psychological impact of the accident took its toll and for some months he experienced debilitating symptoms of PTSD; flashbacks, nightmares, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance and lots of physical pain. Trauma therapy helped enormously, as did long walks in the beautiful countryside where we live. This was the first time I had the thought that it would be wonderful if Mark had a canine companion to provide solace and comfort when he was feeling overwhelmed, panicky or scared. The seed of an idea was sown.

Amazingly, Mark rebuilt his business and returned to work in 2018, with a new van, lots of new power tools and another apprentice. He seemed unstoppable and invincible and I was in awe of his strength.

Two years later, life changed for all of us as the world experienced the collective trauma of the Covid Pandemic. Once again, but this time like so many others, Mark was forced to temporarily cease trading and face the feeling of powerless insecurity that we were all trying to cope with.

When he finally returned to work and began rebuilding his business (for the 4th time) he was experiencing some strange physical symptoms that we initially dismissed and put down to stress. However, as the rest of the world returned to ‘the new normal’ Mark’s symptoms worsened and he contacted our local doctor’s surgery.

Several appointments later, in November 2021 he went in to hospital to have a routine tonsillectomy; it was thought that the lump in his throat was a swollen tonsil.

A month later, just before Christmas (and with his tonsils still intact) we were given the devastating news that Mark had an aggressive and incurable cancer. The shock sent us reeling. We had never heard of Mantle Cell Lymphoma and quickly learned that late-night Googling was not the way to inform ourselves about it!

My clearest memory of the day we received the diagnosis was the drive home. As we entered a busy roundabout, Mark spotted a car that had broken down ahead of us. Like a super-hero, but without the cape, Mark leapt out of our car and ran to assist the stranded driver. I watched as he pushed the car 500m into a supermarket car park. He looked so fit, strong and healthy; it seemed incomprehensible to me that he was ill, that he had cancer.

Mark’s treatment began shortly after Christmas 2021. Several weeks of radiotherapy, were followed by four months of intense chemotherapy. We hoped that the treatment would end at this point, but as the disease progressed through Mark’s body, he was forced to close down his beloved plumbing business. In February 2023 he was admitted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital for a stem cell transplant. This is a gruelling procedure and Mark spent three weeks in hospital as an inpatient, mostly in isolation, as Covid was still a very real and worrying threat.

As an ex-military man Mark approached his diagnosis and treatment with great strength and determination. Despite being very, very poorly he never complained or grumbled or wallowed in self pity. He somehow managed to smile and laugh every single day and each night of his stay in hospital he messaged me to tell me three things he was grateful for that day. The day his hair fell out, he was glad and grateful that it happened all at once and whilst he was in the shower; he only had to unblock the plughole once – a great relief when you have little energy!

During Mark’s time in hospital, I came across a You Tube Channel called “Ellie Golden Life” featuring two beautiful Golden Retrievers, Ellie and Emma. The channel was set up by Kevin and Katie Bubolz; you may have heard of them, or seen them online (@elliegoldenlife) They have over 13 million followers and have over 6 billion accumulated views across their social media platforms!

Ellie and Emma are therapy dogs and Kevin’s social media mission is to “spread smiles”.

Each morning, I sent Mark a video of the dogs and it soon became a daily highlight - a distraction from the awfulness of his treatment and a little bit of joy to look forward to at the start of each new day.

Kevin’s "Mission to Spread Smiles" provided light and laughter (and an awful lot of smiles) to Mark and I at the darkest time of our life. Without knowing it, these beautiful dogs played a huge part in Mark’s incredible recovery.

So, in the Summer of 2023, shortly after we received the wonderful news that Mark’s stem cell transplant had been successful and he was in remission, I contacted Kevin and Katie to thank them for the work they do.

Quite by chance, they were planning an international trip with Ellie and Emma, so we worked together to arrange a surprise for Mark; a meeting in a London Park, followed by lunch with the dogs (and their humans!) that had given him so much joy when he was at his lowest point.

You can see a video of this beautiful encounter here:

Before we said goodbye, Kevin encouraged Ellie to give Mark a hug. In that special moment, I saw first-hand the impact a dog would have on Mark. I noticed his whole body relax and let go. He later told me that, as he hugged Ellie, all the fear, anxiety and tension that he’d been holding onto just melted away. He felt calm, safe and no longer afraid of the uncertainty that comes with an incurable cancer diagnosis. That was the moment I knew I had to do all that I could to find Mark’s “One-Day-Dog” and that is why I’m here.

My hope is to raise enough money to pay for initial items such as a crate, dog beds, toys, dog food, training and insurance etc. Mark’s cancer journey has not ended. He continues to receive immunotherapy treatment every 8 weeks and he is still experiencing some post-treatment side effects, but, once again, he is re-building his life and hoping to start another small business, making “Homes for Wildlife”, combining his love of nature and woodwork. Having a canine companion by his side, will help ease the isolation that he feels and give his life even more meaning and purpose.

Once again, as he has done so many times before, my amazing husband is working hard to overcome this latest ‘life challenge.’ I watch, in awe, as he heads off for long walks in nature, lifts weights and prepares healthy meals, all in an attempt to stay healthy and live life to the full!

I am truly grateful to you for taking the time to read Mark’s story and for any donation that you can make. If you are unable to make a donation, that’s ok! All I ask is that you take some inspiration from Mark’s story, maybe you could share it, and remember that even in the darkest times, there is always hope. Whatever is going on in our lives (and we all face challenges) we can choose to start the day like Mark, we can decide that,

“Today is going to be a great day!”