Living Life to the Fullest

"Everyone dies but not everyone lives" - A. Sachs 

We know roughly when a baby is due because we can calculate between 7 and 9 months from the day the baby was conceived.

Now, WHAT IF - we know roughly when we are going to die? Would it change how we see life and how we live it?



Alex - A Life Fast Forward



These was the question that kept me up all night last night after watching a BBC 3 documentary entitled Alex - A Life Fast Forward. The remarkable and very inspiring story of a brave young man and his 4-year battle with Cancer.  

The feature moved me to tears. I watched the whole thing with a lump in my throat. It was bitter sweet to see a guy so young and so full of life get weaker and weaker as days went by. However, Alex still managed to flash a smile whilst facing adversity. His courage and his angelic cheeky smile will forever be ingrained in my head. 

Alex was lucky to have had a wonderful loving family, friends and wife. And they were equally blessed to have had Alex in their lives albeit it was cut short. 

Before he died Alex told his family how incredible life had been. They also found a note that Alex wrote - "My life is perfect right now! To say that is almost harder than saying the opposite because of what I can do if I survived. But how many people can say that in their death bed. I'm a lucky man!". I was wiping tears whilst typing the last bit. His optimism was so remarkable. His attitude and courage definitely puts life into perspective!

Alex agreed to do the documentary even though his family was reluctant at first because he wanted to raise awareness about Bone Cancer. Though it's a rare form of Cancer, it affects about 450 young people between the age of 10-24 in the UK alone. What was thought as a muscle strain was actually a growing tumour. It was too late when he was finally diagnosed with OSTEOSARCOMA.

Shame I can't find any YouTube video. The full documentary can be viewed from BBC iPlayer for another 11 days. If you are outside the UK you will need a UK proxy to be able to view the video.

Diagnosed at 17 with bone cancer, Alex Lewis underwent intensive treatment but knew he wanted to cram as much life as possible into the time he had left. In three years he experienced what some people take a lifetime to achieve, including meeting and marrying the love of his life. He died shortly after his 22nd birthday.

On the first day of filming in June 2010 - his only sadness is not being able to commit to a long-term relationship. That evening he goes to a party in Swansea, kisses a girl, falls in love and within weeks they are inseparable. In September Alex and Ali become engaged to be married. This is a story of the power of love, as a young man confronts his mortality in the most emotionally charged circumstances imaginable.

Here are a few articles about Alex.

Robbed of hope, the cancer victims being ignored by profit-hungry drug firms - After watching the documentary I didn't quite appreciate how intense the treatments Alex went through until I read this article.

A lifetime in three years - David Dugan, the Director and Producer of the documentary wrote an article for BBC News Online.

The most important lesson I have learned from my Mother is that I should "Live life to the fullest because life is too short for regrets". And that's exactly what I'm doing!

I used to be so obsessed with time that it caused so much frustration and unhappiness in my life. Somehow I felt that I was robbed of time so I did everything I could in my power to control it. But time always had a way of sneaking up on me. 

It took me a while to realise that time was out of my control. In the last couple of years I have learned to let go. I have stopped dwelling on the past and obsessing over my future. Now, I make sure that I stay and savour the present. I have learned to live life - one day at a time. It wasn't easy, it was one hell of a super rollercoaster ride! 

My main purpose of creating this blog was to document things I wouldn't even have dreamed of doing a few years back! Now, I try and do something new everyday and try to make a difference in my life and the people around me and hopefully inspire along the way.

I hope Alex's story touched your life the way it touched mine. He was truly an inspiration. Please help keep his legacy alive and support the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

Thank you Alex for reminding me that every waking day is a blessing and that each new day should be lived like it's the last! I will forever be grateful. Gezellig!

"Life is actually amazing, but to make the most of every minute you do have to look at everything in a positive way." - Alex Lewis