On a cold Tuesday afternoon in Inverurie’s Kellands Park, NHS midwife Helen Lovelady is discussing her colleagues’ warm hearts.
“We have each other’s backs,” she says as we walk briskly around the park’s perimeter.
“And when you see one of your team members hurting you do what you can to support them.”
Over the past month, those words have become something of a mission statement for Helen and the rest of the staff at Inverurie’s Community Maternity Unit, where Helen works.
Recently, the team learned that Mark Newcombe, husband of their colleague Alana, was once again battling leukaemia – a cancer that attacks white blood cells.
Mark, just 36 and a father of two, had already faced one fight with leukaemia when he was 23. He endured almost four years of gruelling chemotherapy and underwent a stem cell transplant that was meant to be his cure.
He even beat the odds to have children. Daughter Jessica was born in 2015 despite doctors warning him of reduced fertility, and then son Harvey in 2017.
But in 2023, the cancer returned, and Mark and his family were once again thrown into the world of hospital appointments, scans and chemotherapy.
A bone marrow transplant was planned, but doctors found that his health and blood profile weren’t in the right condition for it to go ahead.
Still, Mark – a determined Aberdonian and personal trainer – refused to take this lying down.
Just after Christmas, he set himself a challenge: to run 5K every day to raise funds for Aberdeen cancer charity Friends of Anchor, which had supported him throughout both his battles with cancer.
His doctors, however, had other ideas. Concerned about the strain it would put on his body, they advised against it.
That’s when Alana and her colleagues at the maternity unit stepped up.
“Everyone was like, ‘We’ll do it!’” says Alana, walking alongside her team in Kellands Park. “And I thought, ‘Oh yeah, that would be great.’”
Inverurie maternity team steps up to the plate for Mark
So, for the month of February, the staff at Inverurie Community Maternity Unit have taken on Mark’s challenge for him, walking or running at least 5K every day.
They are doing it for Mark, for Alana and the children they all know well, and to raise money for Friends of Anchor.
As the days have gone on and the kilometres have added up, the fundraising has taken off.
Alana originally set a goal of £1,000, but the team surpassed that within just a few days. Now, they’re aiming for £7,500 and are only a few hundred pounds away.
More people have joined in, too. Friends and family have stepped up to take part, and even Friends of Anchor CEO Sarah-Jane Hogg – who got to know Mark during his first diagnosis – has joined the effort.
There is talk of making it an annual challenge, and of passing the baton to another cause in March.
“The plan is that, at the end of this, we’ll pass it on to someone else,” says midwife Carol Wells as she marches around the park beside Helen.
“And then we’ll see what happens from there.”
What does Mark Newcombe think of the maternity unit staff?
At the centre of all this is Mark.
“It’s very kind of them to be out doing something that I should have been doing,” he says down the line from his home in Aberdeen, sounding a little stunned at how quickly everything has come together.
It was just days after he decided not to do the challenge that Alana and the midwifery staff stepped in. Soon, T-shirts were being printed and walking schedules set up.
“It’s class,” he says. “Really class.”
But being on the sidelines hasn’t been easy.
“It’s a strange feeling,” he admits.
Before his doctors told him to stop, he managed a few 5K runs, but even those left his joints aching.
“It’s like being in someone else’s body,” he explains. “You try to keep yourself fit, but it’s a balancing act. If you push too hard, you end up in bed for two days with fatigue.”
Still, he adds: “I’d rather be out with everybody doing the run.”
From ‘cured’ to relapse
It was June 2023 when Mark and Alana were told the leukaemia was back.
“A kick in the teeth,” Mark says, with understatement.
Mark and Alana, who have been together since meeting at Northfield Academy in 2004, had believed their leukaemia battle was behind them.
A haematologist had even used the word ‘cured’ – a moment of huge relief after everything he had been through, including a “horrendous” relapse in 2019, when he was in his early thirties.
Mark was in and out of hospital so often that for the couple’s children, Jessica and Harvey, hospital visits were just part of normal life.
“We just thought that part of our lives was finished,” Mark explains. “But then I had a couple of lumps come up.”
He is determined to stay optimistic.
“Any bad news I’ve had has always come with, ‘You’ve got this thing, but it’s treatable’,” he says.
“Plus, I’ve got two young kids, so when I’m not at the clinic, I’m just dad, yeah, I’m just normal.”
Mark is now waiting for word on his bone marrow transplant.
Unlike his previous stem cell transplant, which was donated by his brother, a bone marrow transplant has stricter requirements. Mark must be disease-free and physically well enough to undergo the procedure.
When it comes, he says he’ll be ready to travel down to Glasgow where the operation will take place.
“The most recent test results show no detectable disease, so I’m back on the transplant list,” he says. “Now, we’re just waiting.”
Why stem cell donations can save lives
Back in Kellands Park, Alana and her colleagues are coming to the end of their day’s 5K.
Alana admits her legs have been aching from all the walking, but she is determined to see the challenge through to the end of the month – and to hit the fundraising target.
She is also keen to raise awareness of stem cell donation.
Mark was lucky to find a match in his brother – something that isn’t always guaranteed, even within families.
But, she says, signing up as a stem cell donor is as simple as giving blood.
“It’s such a little thing to do that could save someone’s life,” she says. “It could be someone’s child, parent, or grandchild, and it’s so easy to do.”
For the rest of the maternity support team taking part in the challenge, the walk has been a chance to get moving, clear their heads, and support a friend.
“And it’s great for conversations, too,” says Helen Lovelady, bringing up the rear with colleague Carol Wells.
Though sometimes, those conversations are tough.
“People say to us, ‘Oh, you’re walking fast. What’s that for?’” Helen says. “And that’s when we look at each other and say… yeah.”
To donate to Mark and Alana’s fundraiser, click here.
Conversation