Sarah Leanne Burdon – who is the full-time carer of her partner of six years Paul Dillon – received her own devastating news after doctors told her she had just six months to live
A man with motor neurone disease has been left heartbroken after his partner and full-time carer was told she has six months to live.
Paul Dillon and Sarah Leanne Burdon fell in love six years ago, with Sarah Leanne quickly moving into his home. Just a year later, Paul started to deteriorate as a result of motor neurone disease, which left him without use of his arms and legs. At that point, Sarah Leanne took up the role of his full-time carer.
Heaping further tragedy on their relationship, Sarah Leanne has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer – and is going to move back with her sons as she becomes increasingly ill.
“She’s going home to die,” says shattered Paul. Not only is he losing his life partner, the couple became concerned he might also be deserted as he faces a ‘months-long wait’ for a team of carers to be put in place.
Sarah Leanne, also 45, was dumbfounded by the news that she had neuroendocrine cancer. She says she was told by doctors that she has six months to live, which could be extended to 12 months if Sarah responds to chemotherapy, reports Manchester Evening News.
She explained: “I don’t know how long I’ve had it, where it’s come from – that’s how rare it is. Six months ago, I found a lump in my breast. It turned out it wasn’t breast cancer – that was a symptom of the cancer elsewhere in my body. I’m trying to fight it.” Sarah Leanne has two sons, aged 23 and 20. The family has made the decision that she will move back to her former home in Stockport to live with her sons and be taken care of by them, as well as her brother.
The family wants to look after her as her condition begins to decline, make sure she gets through gruelling treatment, and spend precious time with her. But that means that, although they will still be a couple, Sarah Leanne must stop living with Paul after six years in his Moston home.
“It’s hard for Paul, it’s hard for me,” says Sarah. “We’ve been living together for six years. I don’t think it’s really hit us, it still feels like we’re in a bad dream.” Paul’s body began deteriorating five years ago, and he says he is now unable to move his arms and legs. “My arms and legs haven’t worked for the last five years,” Paul told the Manchester Evening News .
“I’ve been living full-time with my best mate. But now my partner and carer for the last six years is now going to have to go home to Stockport to live with her sons, she needs to be taken care of. It’s devastating. It’s like we’re breaking up.” On Friday, July 4, Paul said social workers had been ‘trying their best’ to get care for him, but he was worried after being told it could be ‘two or three months’ before a formal care plan was in place. He also feared there wouldn’t be enough care for his needs.
Paul said he informed Manchester City Council of the change in his circumstances around two weeks ago. “I’d been living full-time with my best mate. There’s no one else to look after me, it’s so sad. I can’t feed myself, I can’t do anything for myself,” said Paul on Friday. My legs and arms don’t work, I nearly died in November. My lungs became so weak that now I’m on a breathing machine every day.”
“I’ve been offered three hours a day of care, which is nothing when I need so much help, I don’t know what I’m going to do. But my partner is going home [today] to be taken care of by her sons.
“I need so much help getting up in the morning, getting showered. My partner feeds me, gets me ready, puts me in my disabled chair to watch TV, every hour she has to move my arms – they ache being in one place all the time.
“Then she has to put the breathing machine on me. I’m like a brand new baby, everything is work.” Paul and Sarah say they were left terrified of what might happen to him as she has to move out. “I’m really worried there’ll be no one to do all this, I’m really scared,” said Paul. Thankfully, as of Monday July 7, a care plan suited to his needs has successfully been started, the council has confirmed.
Councillor Thomas Robinson, Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care, told the Manchester Evening News: “Although this is a difficult and worrying situation for Paul and Sarah, our social work team has been working with them and Paul’s brother on an individual care plan that will be in place from tonight to meet all his care needs once Sarah is no longer able to support him.
“It involves two care agencies, one that will look after his care needs at night and another during the day. We have spoken to Paul and his family who have confirmed that the hours are enough to meet his needs, and that he does not require any further support outside of the care calls.
“We will be keeping in touch with him and the care agencies to ensure that he is receiving the right level of care.” The couple say they are now fundraising for a caravan, in the hopes that they can still go away together in the time Sarah Leanne has left, as they cannot travel abroad.
They are trying to raise £7,000 and have received just over £1,300 so far. Paul said: “I can’t fly to go on holiday and now we actually don’t know how long we have left [because of Sarah Leanne’s terminal diagnosis]. But [we] would love to buy a little caravan, maybe in Blackpool or Wales, so we can just go away as much as we can.
“I know it’s a big ask but if anyone could help me with any donations, [it] will help and I appreciate it so much.”