Aged 34, David Nix was planning a year packed full of adventures with his partner.
It was initially delayed by the pandemic, but he later found his whole life put on hold after a devastating diagnosis of stage two testicular cancer in June.
And unable to see friends and family for support, Mr Nix, a father-of-three from Thetford, and his partner Natalie Forman, from Lincoln, were forced to deal with the next few weeks on their own.
After countless doctor appointments, surgery to remove his tumour on June 24 and his first round of chemotherapy, which started last week, Mr Nix said doctors are hopeful he will survive with a 90pc recovery rate.
But now the couple want a date to look forward to, and Ms Forman, who has cystic fibrosis, set up a gofundme page to raise money for a relaxing trip away once his treatment has finished.
Mr Nix said: I think I have done all of the crying I can now and I have come to terms with it.
“I was more upset because I have young children and my biggest fear is not being here for them, that’s the most heart-breaking part.
“Lockdown made it extremely difficult. It was a really scary time.
“But I had my testicle removed and I started chemotherapy on Wednesday, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be but I am having trouble sleeping.
“I just want to get back to my happy, bubbly self again.”
Ms Forman, who is unable to work due to her own health problems, has currently raised £455 and is hoping to plan a trip to the Lake District where they can enjoy the wildlife and nature.
She said: “It was meant to be a big surprise but because I am unwell myself I couldn’t afford to do anything special.
“I set up the page and it went crazy. Amongst all of the horribleness going on I just wanted to give him a bit of respite, to forget about cancer and for us just to spend a bit of quality time together.
“It’s about making memories. At the end of the day you don’t know what’s around the corner and the although doctors sound positive, the cancer is still there.
“We are looking forward to the day he rings that bell and walks out cancer free and then we will have a trip to remember.”
To donate visit the their gofundme page here.
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