John Watson celebrates his 70th birthday in 2025, and – by any standards – he’s led an interesting and varied life so far.
He lost a hand aged 14, when he was “messing about with chemicals, like boys do” and his passion for running turned him into a Paralympian. He won silver in the 400m at the 1984 Paralympics, took gold in the 100m at the European Championships in 1985, and two bronzes for the 100 and 200 metres World Championships in 1986.
He’s also had a successful career in education, lecturing in exercise physiology to post-16 students and undergraduates.
But one thing he never lets define him is the leukaemia he suffered from, and which is now in remission. In fact, he’s turned his cancer experience into a positive, giving presentations to schools and talking about how much he was helped by Exeter Leukaemia Fund (ELF).
John lives in Ottery St Mary with his wife, Liz, and between them they have four children and seven grandchildren. He said: “Liz has been my support all the way through and has had to deal with such a lot.”
An ongoing, serious chest infection which progressed to pneumonia, saw him eventually admitted to hospital on New Year’s Eve in 2008, and after blood tests he was referred to haematology
John was diagnosed with Myelodysplasia, a pre-cancerous condition which affected his red and white blood cells. He was put under observation, with monthly blood tests, but he had to be careful to avoid infection – not easy in his role as a college lecturer, so visits to Yarty ward at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital were common, for intravenous antibiotic treatment.
“I came across ELF when I was first diagnosed, and really valued their counselling services, which both Liz and my daughter made use of. I thought how refreshing it was to have that support, right from day one.”
Eventually, John had to take early retirement, because of the serious risks to his health. By 2011, he had developed leukaemia.
John went through two rounds of chemotherapy, staying in hospital in isolation on each occasion. ELF’s help was there once again, as equipment in John’s isolation room, including an exercise bike and TV, were provided by the charity.
John subsequently had a stem cell transplant in 2012, with his younger brother as a matched donor. As an interesting aside, John’s blood type has now changed to that of his brother!
Now, more than a decade on, John is in good health, although he has had a number of skin carcinomas removed, brought on by his treatment. Recently, he had his final consultation with haematology and has been signed off, although he knows help is just a phone call away should he need it. And, of course, he can still call on the services of ELF.
Putting his teaching skills to great use, John regularly visits schools and colleges, talking to pupils about his story and about the support ELF offers, although this has been curtailed due to COVID.
“There will be people who have a relative who have received a cancer diagnosis, and they think that is the end. Well, here I am all these years on to prove otherwise.
“After one of my presentations, a student came up to me and said a cousin had been diagnosed with leukaemia, and no one would talk about it. I suggested she tell her family about me and my talk, as an icebreaker. She emailed me a few weeks later to say thank you, because it had broken the ice, and the family were now talking about this difficult subject.”