Leeds daughter's anguish after her Pudsey dad died just hours after collapse due to undiagnosed leukaemia

He attributed his symptoms to a stressful festive season but after the Christmas of 2021, he visited his GP to discuss his sore throat. He was referred to a consultant but before the appointment date, collapsed at home and died hours later at Leeds General Infirmary.

Ash died on January 28, 2022, the same day his wife and daughter were told he had acute myeloid leukaemia. The undiagnosed illness had caused a bleed on the brain.

His daughter, 48-year-old Rebecca Thresh, said: “‘He was an amazing dad. I loved him to bits. The world is a darker place without him – he made the world a better place. We don't want anyone to go through what my family has been through. It devastates lives. My world has changed forever.

“It was a massive shock. He was really fit and healthy – nothing ailed him normally. We had no idea it was AML until the A&E doctors told us – it was the first time I’d ever heard of it. The doctors said his blood results were off the chart, so he must’ve been very strong to have kept going through it all.”

Ash ran a lacemaking and needlecraft supply business with his wife Jo and had helped with a lot of shows and events as part of a final push before retirement.

Rebecca said: "It’s devastating because it’s so quick. After dad passed away and we knew it was because of AML, we looked into it and found Leukaemia UK, who fund research into this disease. They’re doing everything they can to make sure people don’t lose their loved ones like I lost my dad."

Fiona Hazell, chief executive of Leukaemia UK, said: “Important discoveries are happening all the time within leukaemia research. Whilst survival rates in AML are still nowhere near where they should be and treating this disease remains difficult, at Leukaemia UK we know that we can help change this as research has the power to one day stop leukaemia devastating lives.”

A Leukaemia UK fundraising page has been set up in Ash’s memory and donations can be made online.