Terminally-ill Allenton man to remarry ex-wife after 15 years
A 51-YEAR-OLD sufferer of a fatal cancer is marrying his
ex-wife after 15 years of being apart.
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Sue, Stephen and Steven Gillingham
Steve Gillingham became ill while living in China and
returned to Derby in June, where he was diagnosed with
mesothelioma last month.
He was told he would probably not live for more than another
year-and-a-half.
Now, he and his ex-wife Susan will remarry, much to the
delight of their three children, and on the date of their
original wedding anniversary.
The father-of-three was playing football and cycling up
until June this year but now cannot even walk to the local
shop.
"This has brought us closer together and Susan has been
extremely supportive," said Mr Gillingham, who now lives with
Mrs Gillingham, and their sons Stephen, 24, and Alan, 27, in
Grosvenor Street, Allenton.
Their daughter Stacey, 23, who lives close by, will also be
at the wedding on September 15 – exactly 29 years after they
first married.
Mr Gillingham was living in China teaching English at
Guangzhou Civil Aviation College when he became ill.
Doctors thought he may have lung cancer but, when he came
back to Derby, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and lungs,
is caused by exposure to asbestos.
Mr Gillingham, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy,
feels breathless and is on morphine to relieve his painful
symptoms.
He said: "This disease is rapid and it's hard to get your
head around. I have to accept that maybe I've only got 18
months left to live."
He said it made him angry the Government was not putting
more money into research and drug trials for patients of the
disease.
"They've known for over 100 years that asbestos is nasty
stuff," he said, "yet even in the 60s they never thought to
tell the lads to wear a mask. The least they could do now is
try to help these people suffering."
Derbyshire is considered a hotspot for mesothelioma cases
because of its history of heavy engineering. At least 300
people in the county have died in the past 30 years but
specialists expect a surge in numbers because of the disease's
long incubation period.
Mr Gillingham is not sure where he inhaled the fatal
asbestos fibres.
He was in the Army for 11 years and recalls an occasion in
Northern Ireland when he worked in a bombed building that
contained asbestos.
He worked as a groundsman at International Combustion in
Derby between 1988 and 1994.
He has just recently discovered another possible source of
exposure while talking to his father, Alan Gillingham, 74, of
Littleover.
In the 1950s, when Mr Gillingham was born, his father worked
at Eight Shop in Derby Locomotive works.
He said: "My dad said the lads used to use the asbestos
material as snowballs and play football with it.
"Dad used to change his overalls and shower but the fibres
are minute and all it would have taken was for me to breathe in
just a single fibre."
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Comments
by Adrian Budgen, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, Sheffield
Wednesday, August 27 2008, 1:54PM
“I was very sorry to hear about Steve Gillingham's illness - mesothelioma is a very cruel disease. I suspect that Steve was exposed to asbestos at home, during his childhood, as his father will inevitably have carried dust home on his clothes. Asbestos was used very extensively at the Derby carriage and wagon works, as it was at the Plant in Doncaster,
and suitable precautions were usually not taken. Children are particularly susceptible because their lungs are not fully developed.
The Government is bringing in a special compensation scheme for people who have not been exposed during the course of their employment
( eg through domestic / neighbourhood exposure ) or where they have been exposed during a period of self-employment. It is expected that the scheme will become operational in October. It will be administered by the Department for Work & Pensions. However, asbestos disease sufferers should always take legal advice, even if they can't be sure where or how they were exposed. International Combustion, for example, has been sued many times previously. A civil claim
( for damages ) should be pursued where the alleged guilty party can be identified, if it is "good for the money".
I wish Steve and Susan all the very best for their forthcoming wedding in September.”