Tweets from the cancer ward – and a dog called Honey
During his treatment for cancer, Dave becomes a keen user of Twitter, the micro-blogging site.
He tells the world about his feelings, the operations, the predictions and intense pain, his love for his wife Natalie and his thoughts on the travails of Wigan Athletic.
In one entry, he sums up his story as told on Twitter: “It’s a tale of footy, the desert, love, cancer, 6 mnths to live, racing, a dog, family, roadtrips and pies.”
The “dog” refers to Honey, his inseparable canine companion. It was via Twitter that he heard a puppy, a Saluki, known as the Persian Greyhound, had been abandoned on building site in Dubai.
“She was a couple of months old and was covered in ticks. No weight on her at all. She had no home and was going to be put down,” says Dave.
“Natalie and I went to meet the puppy. Natalie loved her straight away, but I fell in love with her straight away. The way she looked at me. I thought, ‘Oh, my god. You are just sensational.’
“We called her Honey. We brought her home the next day. She was a puppy who didn’t know how to play. You’d give her a squeaky toy and she didn’t know what to do with it. If she wanted dinner, she thought she had to dig. She didn’t know what a cuddle was. She was timid. She was all over the place.
“But she had these eyes that looked at you and said all she wanted was to be loved.
“Now the puppy plays and we have built an amazing relationship. I was just sitting on the sofa two nights ago. She got out of bed, walked over, climbed up, snuggled into me for five minutes then got back up again and went to bed. It was at the time I was holding my side because I had twinges in my liver. I had a burning sensation. Every time I am ill, the dog knows.
“She’s not allowed in our bedroom. So she sat for two hours at the door, looking in and watching me when I was very ill one time. I was moaning and groaning and rolling and tossing and turning. And she just sat there quietly, looking at me for two hours.
“Then when I got up and came out, she licked my feet, gave me a cuddle and she went off and played.
“My view is that I gave something a second chance because I’ve got a second chance, I hope. The family love her and Honey is part of the family.”
It is through Twitter that Wigan and its fans have learned of Dave’s battle. The club’s manager, Roberto Martinez, sent him a personal video diary to wish him well.
Dave says: “All these Wigan fans I speak to on Twitter want to buy me a pint and come to a game. I am going to get to a game by the end of the season somehow and I am going to meet them all.
“It’s a lot harder watching Wigan than it is dealing with melanoma. With melanoma you just get pain and the pain goes away. With Wigan, you lose hope. That’s the difference. At least I’ve got hope with my cancer. I’ve got no hope with my football team.”
A woman living in Dubai, who Dave met on twitter (@LesleyCully), sorted him out with an iPad 2 so he could keep in touch with his growing global band of 2,000-plus followers more easily.
Dave says: “Suddenly, my faith in humanity has grown. Someone I don’t know has just given me an iPad because they want to hear what I am saying about cancer.
“The Twitter thing grows and grows. I get a message from Matt Lucas from Little Britain saying, ‘Hey Dave. What’s going on? Hope you’re well.’ I am thinking this is bizarre because I am actually now pouring out my heart.
“When I’m having dark days, I’m telling people what’s going on. When I’m having good days, I’m telling people what’s going on. I am joking and laughing all the way through it. I’ve got a whole series of cancer jokes, like ‘Laughter’s the best medicine – except in my case its Ipilimumab.’”
