Eastbourne mum pays tribute to son who died following leukaemia diagnosis

Luke Bailey was diagnosed with leukaemia, in 2021, at the age of 17.

Having experienced no previous symptoms, Luke’s diagnosis came ‘out of nowhere’ and as a ‘huge shock’, according to his mum Sue Groves.

She said: "Luke went from a strapping 6ft, healthy, 17 year old to, over the weekend, getting severe pains in his leg and collapsing, which led to him being admitted into A&E in the middle of Covid.

"Within 12 hours, we had a leukaemia diagnosis.”

It was discovered that Luke had one of the rarest forms of the disease – which only three per cent of patients get. Despite this, his family were ‘full of hope’ due to the high success rate of leukaemia treatment, and were told not to worry by hospital staff.

As part of his treatment, Luke had a bone marrow transplant. However, six months later, he began to show symptoms of an aggressive form of Graft Versus Host Disease – a serious side effect which occurs when the graft’s immune cells attack the recipient’s body.

The illness left him at 18 per cent lung capacity for the final year of his life, and meant he had to rely on a mobility scooter and oxygen therapy 24/7, according to Sue.

Despite this, Luke’s family and friends said he remained positive and never lost his sense of humour.

He sadly died at the age of 20 on August 3, 2023.

In a tribute to Luke, Sue said: “I can only describe Luke as a giant amongst men.

“[He] was such a giving person. He’d be the person who would give his last 50p to a homeless man on the street.

“When he first got diagnosed and went into the hospital, it was Christmas time and they’d get lots of gifts, and Luke would turn round and say ‘no, give them to the children who need them’.

“He was so caring and loving, full of life and made everyone laugh. He always thought about other people, which reflects on the amount of friends he’s still got.

"There were 250 people at his funeral, and a good 100 of them were his friends.”

Sue now works to raise awareness of just how important fundraising is in the quest to find a cure for the illness which she says could affect anyone at any time.

“It’s not genetic, it could kill anyone’s child at any time,” she said.

"Luke wasn’t ill before he was diagnosed, it came out of nowhere.

“Fundraising is so important for research.”

Luke’s childhood friend, Lleyton Edwards, is currently raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation – which helps to ‘navigate the emotional, physical, and psychosocial challenges of a blood cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship’.

In honour of Luke, Lleyton will be running a total of 1,000 kilometres over the span of 20 days, averaging 50 kilometres a day.

Lleyton said: “The money I raise will help provide care for those in need right now — and it will back the brightest researchers to continue uncovering faster diagnoses and better treatments to save lives.”

Click here to find out more.