A man whose family was told to say goodbye to him as a result of his ultra-rare cancer has miraculously made a recovery.
Sam Parker, from England, was given a "one in six million" chance of survival from his rare diagnosis, per Lancashire Telegraph.
The 22-year-old found himself needing life-saving treatment after he felt nauseous and had a headache during a run. What he first believed to be dehydration soon turned out to be a rare type of tumor.
Just before Christmas 2020, Sam was placed on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine, which had to take over his heart and lung functions in a desperate bid to keep him alive.
Sam was told he had a paraganglioma – a rare tumor most often diagnosed in people aged 30-50. Doctors were convinced his tumor grew rapidly.
He told Lancashire Telegraph of his diagnosis: "It was pretty daunting. They told me it was a one-in-six-million chance and the fact it happened in the adrenal glands made it even rarer."
The tumor was wrapped around the main artery of his kidney which made the procedure extremely complicated and took nine hours to complete. Some complications during the surgery resulted in Sam needing the ECMO machine to survive.
And when his family was told to say their goodbyes, brave Sam battled for his life against the vicious cancer.
Sam's mom Julie recalled: "I walked in and his eyes were taped up and I just remember thinking this doesn’t happen in real life, it happens on TV.
"Sam had tubes all around him and I could barely see him underneath it all. I kissed him on the forehead and whispered in his ear 'you can do this, come on'." Julie said her husband Ian was "too distraught to see him". "It was just too hard," she added.
After making a miraculous recovery, Sam has made it his mission to support and raise money for Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester - the place that saved his life.
He said: "I just can’t thank the team enough for everything they did. I wanted to show my appreciation to them for everything they did so I set up 'Sam's Gratitude Fundraiser'.
"Without the ECMO team, I probably wouldn't be here today. So it's a big 'thank you' to them and we will keep fundraising for them throughout 2021."
To donate to Sam's fundraiser, visit his Just Giving page.
