In 2002 I was diagnosed as having Sub-Acute Combined Degeneration of the Cord Secondary to Pernicious Anaemia. I went out and bought a two-seat convertible sports car to celebrate the fact that my wonky and numb legs were due to a lack of a vitamin and not any tumour on my spinal cord. After a year of light duties, I was forced to take early retirement from lecturing and that’s when I started the Pernicious Anaemia Society. I steered the growth and prestige of the society for the next twenty years and, through the years came to understand that there are serious problems with the way this nasty ‘forgotten’ disease is diagnosed and treated. Along the way I started writing a blog that highlighted the plight of patients and their families who had waited sometimes many years for an eventual explanation of their often debilitating symptoms.

I retired as the Executive Chairman of the charity on April 1st 2023 after a scary medical emergency the previous year. But, and here’s the good news, you can still read those popular blogs by clicking here. Some are harrowing, some are uplifting but all emphasise the need for the issues surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of Pernicious Anaemia to be seriously addressed. I’d like to say that I hope you enjoy them – but that would be difficult.