WHEN Blackpool man Eric Bird was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia he was given just six months to live.

Now, 10 years on, Eric lives a relatively normal life having just completed what doctors hope will be his final course of treatment to send the hairy cell strain of leukaemia into remission forever.

Eric was one of only two people in the North-West to suffer from this strain of the disease when it was first diagnosed, but you won't find him sitting back and taking things lightly.

He now hopes to set up a memorial in Stanley Park for leukaemia sufferers who weren't as fortunate as he was.

As a member of the Leukaemia Research Fund, to which Eric says he owes a debt of gratitude, he is pioneering the project for relatives to plant a special rose - called the Ray of Hope - which was created especially for the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Eric has one of the red roses in his back garden.

He said: "It would be wonderful if we get the go-ahead.

"It is my way of expressing gratitude to everyone who has helped me over the past ten years, especially the doctors at the Victoria Hospital, in particular Doctor Flanagan and Doctor Kelsey, who always filled me with hope when I felt low.

"Right throughout the ten years the doctors were always optimistic when they tried me on different treatments.

"The only way these treatments come about is through research, which is why my wife Ivy and I now help the fund.

"The members there were brilliant and I would like to say a big thank-you to them all.

"I just hope I will be able to help others in the same way, and this garden is a way of doing that."

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