Ellon grandad Ali Michie’s life changed forever when he discovered he had leukaemia.
Ali is well known in the community, having worked in the fire service in Aberdeen for 28 years before he retired.
Before that, he was a soldier for nine years, touring in Germany, Belize and Northern Ireland.
Ali also taught Sunday school at Sheddocksley Baptist Church for 26 years.
“I just loved interacting with the kids. They just soak it all in,” he says.
In 2022, the retired firefighter discovered massive unexplained bruises on his stomach. He was also suffering from fatigue.
At first, it was thought to be caused by something he could have picked up while volunteering in Malawi, or the effects of medication taken to prevent malaria.
Trial drugs ‘nearly killed’ Ali
But after blood and bone marrow tests, Ali was diagnosed with Chronic Myelo Monocytic Leukaemia (CMML).
Until October 2023, Ali was quite stable and didn’t require any treatment.
“But then all of a sudden,” the 68-year-old says, “this pain came in my stomach and that changed everything.”
Ali was started on a trial drug. This was initially supposed to be six cycles, but was stopped after just two cycles after Ali almost died in January 2024.
“The second cycle nearly killed me,” he says, “it was very frightening.
“My blood levels dropped dangerously low, so they stopped those drugs.”
Ali was taken to hospital five times in five months due to infections, including on Christmas Day.
But he still kept a positive attitude.
He says: “They looked after me very well. Santa came to visit me – the staff were brilliant.”
After that, Ali got blood transfusions three or four times a week for six months.
“And then all of a sudden,” he says, “my bone marrow started to function, my blood levels started coming back up, and they were able to stop the transfusions.
“Now, I haven’t had one for six months. And everything is pretty stable.”
‘I don’t know if I’ll ever manage to get back to my golf – but I will try my best’
Ali was very active with golf, walking, running, badminton, squash, football and boxing in the army before his diagnosis.
Though lately, golf has become a struggle for Ali.
“My energy levels are so poor,” he says.
“I’m only a seven minute walk from my house to the golf course, and the fact that I can’t walk down the road and get onto the course is infuriating me.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever manage to get back to my golf – but I will try my best.
“I went one day last year in October and did four holes, that’s what I could manage.”
But Ali gets immense joy out of spending time with his two grandnieces Eve (eight) and Indie (five), and two-year-old granddaughter Freya.
“Looking after them is a real highlight,” says Ali.
“The girls have me doing all sorts – I’ve done make-up and everything with them.
“We’re always at the dining table doing crafts.
“And they like to put nail polish on my nails, do my hair and eyebrows – they’re just so much fun.
“And they’re helping me with my moves for the catwalk.”
Ali to model for Friends of Anchor event Brave 2025
Ali is also one of the 24 men taking part in Friends of Anchor’s Brave event in May.
He will be doing a bit of boxing, saluting and marching – a nod to his time as a corporal and physical training instructor in the army – as well as some air guitar on the stage.
“I’m a bit apprehensive. But the rehearsals are going quite well now,” he says.
“After the first rehearsal, I thought ‘I’ll never manage this’.
“But after the third one, when my wife came along, I felt better.
“The men and women performed for one another and I have to say the men were much better than the women,” he jokes.
His granddaughter and grandnieces are coming to see him, alongside other family and friends, meaning altogether Ali will have a huge 39-strong group cheering him on.
For Ali, taking part in Brave was a no-brainer.
“I just felt that because Friends of Anchor had done so much for me, I wanted to give something back to them,” he says.
“I phoned and put my name in, and was accepted.
“Apparently all my family had put in letters of support – that felt brilliant.
“I’m so chuffed that so many of them want to come and support me.
“I have a very supportive family. My wife is always there for me.
“My son got his football team to donate, and my daughter is doing the Kilt Walk through my Just Giving page.”
Ali is also raising funds for Friends of Anchor with a daily 10-minute walk.
“My target was £500, and I actually made that in two days,” he says.
“So I increased it to £1,000 and I’ve now reached £1,800.”
Ali has dedicated his life to charity work
He is honorary president of the YMCA in Aberdeen, and took part in a cycling tour back 2005. The group cycled all the way from Regensburg – a German city twinned with the Granite City – back to Aberdeen over 10 days.
The group cycled from 7am to 6pm each day and raised a total of £10,000, splitting the funds between the Lord Provost’s Charitable Trust for the city branch of the MS Society and the YMCA’s work with local young people.
Ali and his wife, Colleen, 67, volunteered in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi for eight to 14 weeks every year for five years, working with charity Mwana Ministries.
There, they helped teach children to read, and taught them stories from the Bible too.
For Ali, it is his religion that has helped him through his leukaemia, as well as the support from his wife and family.
“My faith in God helps me,” he says, “we’ve got a very strong Christian faith.
“We pray every night at 9 o’clock for healing for me, and believe God will heal me.
“And I think in many ways, He has. I believe God’s healing power has come into my life.”
Donate to Ali’s Just Giving page here, and find out more about Brave 2025 here.
Conversation