A five-year-old leukaemia patient is heading to Singapore with his parents after kindhearted members of the public donated £500,000 for potentially life-saving treatment
Image by: Olivia Saxelby
A five-year-old kid is heading to Singapore with his parents after kindhearted members of the public donated £500,000 to fund leukaemia treatment.
Oscar Saxelby-Lee will have CAR-T treatment after the community helped raise the funds to cover the cost of the treatment, which is not currently available on the NHS.
He will make the trip with his parents “in the next few days” following the successful crowdfunding campaign to pay for the potentially life-saving treatment.
Oscar’s mum Olivia Saxelby said: “Oscar is continuing to fight, but his disease hasn’t responded greatly to treatment in the UK involving a top up of donor cells he was given.
“It kept his disease level down to an extent, but it’s not what we had wished.
“It’s taken a few days to come to decision, not only because of the results, but the difficulty in knowing whether each option will cure him.
“All we want to do is the ‘right’ thing by our baby. So in the next few days we shall be on the plane to Singapore.
“We are scared, we are petrified, we just don’t know if this is the best option, but what we do know is Oscar was given this chance, and we must go for it before it’s too late.”
Oscar, from Worcester, first made headlines when more than 10,000 people responded to a plea for potential stem cell donors after doctors gave him three months to find a match.
After a match was found, Oscar’s parents Olivia, 26, and Jamie, 23, hoped it was the first step to curing their son who has a rare T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
But they were left devastated when they discovered the disease had returned despite Oscar's stem cell transplant this spring.
They suffered further heartache when they were told the NHS would not fund a second transplant or a potentially new cell therapy treatment.
The desperate couple launched a fundraising drive to raise £500,000 needed to send Oscar to Singapore for the CAR-T trial.
Image by: Olivia Saxelby
Image by: Olivia Saxelby
Image by: David Dunbar
Image by: Newsquest Worcester News
Image by: Olivia Saxelby
The campaign to raise half a million pounds to fund a specialist treatment for the brave five-year-old boy was one of the fastest online charity appeals, taking just three weeks.
In a post on their Facebook page, the family said: “Often we sit, no talk is needed, no eye contact is needed, just tears. Just that time to grieve.
“It’s not often but it happens. It happens because all we wish for is a ‘normal’, happy life without our baby suffering.
“Being strong, remaining positive is absolutely our way of coping but sometimes we do have to be realistic.
“All we want to do is the ‘right’ thing by our baby. Yet that is not something that you can’t determine during these traumatic times.”
Dr Jen Kelly, director of the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust said: “The team at the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust are proud to have been able to help support Oscar Saxelby-Lee and his parents, Olivia and Jamie through the most incredible fundraising campaign.
“We would like to wish them the very best of luck on this next step of their journey and to say we are rooting for Oscar all the way.
“The funds are ready, but we are currently working hard to sort the final details for the funding of Oscar’s treatment and are awaiting on the final paperwork from Singapore before transfers can take place.
“When this is received, we will be ready and waiting.
“Thank you so much to the people of Worcestershire for working together to help us give this wonderful little boy this chance.
“Grace’s legacy was a wish to help other children, and we are so proud to have been able to help support Oscar’s family in this way.
“We will continue to be in close contact with the family, helping where ever we can.”
Mum praises kind stranger who brought emotional son home after he lost his football bag - then gave family £100 to buy replacement kit
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
A mum-of-three was left in tears when a kind stranger brought her distraught son home after he lost his football bag - and then gave the family £100 to replace the lost kit.
Sarah Sims said her son, Ashton Cayton, nine, was left "sobbing his heart out" as he desperately ran around in the rain on Saturday, trying to find his bag with all his football kit in.
She said a kind stranger walking her dog in the park took pity on Ashton and brought him home - but then, unbeknownst to the family, went back to the park to carry on looking for the bag.
And when the woman could not find Ashton's lost belongings, she returned to Sarah's house and slipped a note through the door - with £100 enclosed for replacement kit.
Fitness instructor Sarah, from Barry, south Wales, says she was moved to tears by the kind gesture - and now wants to find the Good Samaritan and thank her properly.
The single mum said: "She turned up at my house like a fairy godmother.
"Not only did she bring my upset son home, she went back out to try to find his football stuff, then wrote that wonderful letter and gave money.
"Ashton said he was freezing, soaking wet, running round crying his eyes out, trying to find his bag.
"With me being a recently single mum, my kids know the value of money, and he was so upset and worried how we would replace his stuff, especially his new trainers.
"This was just a beautiful gesture and we are so grateful. Such a beautiful random act of kindness that was so selfless it had me in tears," Sarah added.
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
The kind stranger's note was slipped through Sarah's letterbox as she was bathing her children Frazer Cayton, 11, Ashton, nine, and daughter Cali Cayton, six.
It read: "To the little boy who lost his bag - hi, I looked for your bag but could not find it (sorry!).
"I remember when I was little and I lost something. I was so upset and we had no money to replace it either. Mum and I looked everywhere.
"I hope that you get a new pair of football boots. Here is £100 for you and mum towards replacements.
"Work hard in school and do something nice for someone."
The note is signed from "The lady and her dog".
Sarah said: "Everything about it is simply beautiful. I am so grateful for this generous selfless act and for teaching my kids a wonderful lesson."
Ashton, who plays for Park Lions football club in Barry, now wants to put the money towards replacing his football bag, boots, and shin pads.
But Sarah added: "He also wants to do something for charity. He said he wants to help the homeless as it must be awful for them to be outdoors in this weather.
"Ashton is the most loyal boy, he is so kind and caring and will do anything for me and his siblings.
"This note deserves to be shared for this wonderful person to get the recognition she deserves."
When asked what he would say to the woman, Ashton said: "Thank you very much for that money, and thanks for searching for my bag."
One of UK's youngest transgender children starts her transitioning journey aged 13...after realising she was in 'wrong body' aged just THREE
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
A 12-year-old who is one of Britain’s youngest transgender children has started transitioning - after realising she was born in the ‘wrong body’ aged just THREE.
Ash Lammin is, biologically-speaking, a boy.
But her mum says she insisted that she was a girl as soon as she could speak.
Terri Lammin, 43, said that watching her daughter - who was born Ashton - grow up confused and upset by her body was “heartbreaking”.
She said: “Although she was born male, from the moment she could speak Ash insisted she was a girl.
“By age five, she was asking ‘when is someone going to chop my winky off?’ - and questioning why she had it at all.”
Family photos from Ash’s upbringing therefore mask a very difficult period for the family, who live near Ramsgate in Kent.
In one, Ash is splashing around in a bath, wearing a sparkly mermaid’s swimming costume and looking like an average three-year-old girl - obsessed with pink and wearing a princess dress, the sort of thing that’s usually seen at birthday parties.
But, Terri revealed, the only reason she was wearing her swimming costume in the bath was to hide her body - which had dismayed her from an early age.
Ash says that it has been difficult growing up as a trans girl, but says she feels that she is firmly on the right path.
She said: “The journey is long and it’s still going, but I feel like the sense of victory is there through it all.
"I do feel accepted sometimes, but other times not.
"Not everyone is going to understand and people have to have their own opinions and I understand that. Some people might not like the idea of trans.
"I hope I inspire others but I just hope that love and acceptance comes through everything."
According to her mum, Ash is the perfect example of a child who has been born in the wrong body.
Now, aged almost 13, she is embarking on a lengthy journey to transition her gender from male to female at an NHS-run clinic - and is one of the youngest in the country to do so.
Ash - who changed her name by deed poll to Ashley when she was eight - will start by taking hormone blockers to halt the onset of puberty.
She has researched the process incessantly - and eventually wants a womb transplant so that she can be a mother when she’s older.
While some critics have accused Terri of taking drastic decisions on behalf of a child who is too young to know better, she points out that Ash will take the blockers until she is 18.
At that point, she herself will decide whether to go ahead with gender reassignment surgery.
If she decides not to go ahead with it, Ash will come off the blocker - and her puberty will kick in just a few years later than her peers.
Terri said: “I never thought it was a phase, Ash was just Ash.
"When she was three she said to me, ‘I’m a boy because you gave me a boy’s name - it’s your fault.’
“I remember feeling horrible, because she blamed me. I personally thought maybe this was what an extremely camp gay man is like as a child.
"I'd never come across it before and I just went along with it. I just thought 'if he's happy, well that's the main thing.'"
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
Image by: Matthew Newby SWNS
But Terri, who has seven other children, said that life became much harder when Ash started at primary school.
She said: “I sent her to school in a boy’s uniform. I felt awful, she didn’t want to wear it and I was making her.
"The school were great. The headmaster at the time said 'if you think it's going to make life easier then bring Ash in a girl's uniform', so I did.
"I was in a right state. I thought 'everybody is going to think I'm weird' - but Ash loved it, she found it easy.
"Before, when I was taking her into school, she was biting me and kicking me, she didn't want to go in.
"As soon as she put the girl's uniform on, she wanted to go every day."
Despite the school’s willingness to help and the kindness of Ash’s classmates, Terri says that other parents were very difficult - leaving her out of social events and complaining that Ash was using the girls’ toilets.
She added: "When Ash was Ashton, she was invited to all the kids' parties, even though she used to turn up in a princess dress.
"The parents didn't mind then. But as soon as I let her be Ashley all the time, for a whole year she didn't get invited to one party.
"The kids were fine; it's not the children, kids play with anybody. It's not until an adult comes in and says you shouldn't do that then it changes."
When Ash turned 11 and went to secondary school, she became a target for bullies who would throw things at her on the bus and shout ‘tranny’ at her - forcing Terri to take her out of the school after just one term.
Ash is now being home-schooled, and Terri is calling for better education within schools to teach children about transgender people.
She said: "I'd like to see the subject of transgender people included in some lessons, like there are about same-sex families.
“There needs to be more about liking people for who they are, not what they are."
Ash suffers from anxiety and, her mum said, has openly claimed that she wants to die.
Terri said: “Some days she says ‘I’m so glad I’m me’, but other days she feels terrible. She asks why it has to happen to her and she hates herself.
“I tell her that some people are born with one leg, and they have to deal with it. I question whether it was a chromosome disorder that led to this - I would like to know why it happened.”
"She is so inspirational. She could easily have said 'I'll just be a boy' but she feels so strongly about who she is she accepts the difficulties.
"But it's a lot for a child to deal with."
A vulnerable man prescribed an 'emotional support companion dog' by his doctor has been taken to court - to face eviction from his home for having a 'pet'
Image by: James Dadzitis SWNS
A vulnerable man has been hauled to court and faces eviction over his medically prescribed 'emotional support companion dog' - despite doctors demanding he be allowed to keep it.
Christopher Palmer, 63, has suffered years of depression, anxiety and mental health problems - leaving him socially isolated with suicidal tendencies.
But things changed when Christopher's doctor prescribed him an emotional support and mental wellness animal companion - a beagle called Tammy in December 2018.
Despite Christopher's pet being prescribed by a doctor, when Plymouth Community Homes found out, they ordered the dog had to be rehomed.
And if he refuses, Christopher will have to move out of his home of eight years.
The landlord said Christopher is in breach of his tenancy agreement which states he is not permitted to keep a dog as he lives in a high rise flat, according to their pet policy.
The housing association took him to Plymouth County Court this week (26th) in a bid to evict him over an alleged a breach of a tenancy injunction.
But a judge gave the man and his dog a stay of execution - saying they could carry on living together until another hearing in January.
There is a section in Plymouth Community Homes Pets Policy that explains pets are allowed if they are medically prescribed.
PCH said they would rehome them - but Christopher's GP says moving him would make his condition worse.
Christopher has been fighting to save his dog since February - leaving him feeling house bound, struggling to communicate with others and not eating properly.
Speaking after the hearing Christopher, of Plymouth, Devon said: "Without Tammy I would not be able to get out of the house.
''I need to have her 24 hours a day. I suffer panic attacks and anxiety so I need to have her with me.
"PCH should not be able to treat people with mental health the way they do.
''They should treat people with a bit of respect. I cannot move to a new place as I have friends in the building who support me.
''If they moved me somewhere else I would not know anybody. My neighbours all agree that this is disgusting. Tammy has not been any trouble at all.
''There have not been any complaints. I just don't understand it. They allow deaf dogs, so why not her?
"I have got a bit of encouragement from the judge. I had stopped eating as I was so anxious - but hopefully I can start again. She seemed to care."
Christopher cared for a pet rabbit since 2013 who helped provide him comfort, but when his rabbit died late last year, his mental health deteriorated without a companion.
Dr Michaela Stoffregen prescribed the Tammy - and she also wrote letters to Plymouth Community Homes in defence of Christopher keeping Tammy.
In multiple letters Dr Stroffregen writes: "The dog is very important for [Christopher's] mental health and reduces his anxiety and loneliness.
"I think it would be quite cruel to take the dog away from him and equally he wouldn't be able to cope well with finding a new place.
"He has severe mental health issues and his dog keeps him stable.
"I strongly advise that everything possible has to be done to let Christopher keep his little dog, as it is a lifeline for him.
"A move would be disastrous to his mental health in my opinion. He has already expressed suicidal thought about this situation.
"I am extremely concerned about his mental state and taking away his dog will likely worsen his suicidal thoughts and might well tip him over the edge."
Image by: James Dadzitis SWNS
Image by: James Dadzitis SWNS
Image by: James Dadzitis SWNS
There is a section in Plymouth Community Homes Pets Policy that explains pets are allowed if they are medically prescribed.
It states: "By definition, Assistance Dogs are not pets and are therefore excluded from the main provisions of this policy.
"By Assistance Dogs, we mean dogs that have been trained specifically to assist people with a disability, such as sight or hearing loss, restricted mobility, autism or post traumatic stress disorder.
"For all other disability needs, where pet-ownership has been identified as a therapeutic
aid, we will consider requests for ‘reasonable adjustments’ to be made as part of an overall needs assessment."
At the court hearing solicitor Vincent Davis, representing Plymouth Community Homes, said the tenant was "in breach of his tenancy for keeping a dog in the property."
He added: "This is also in breach of the landlord's pet policy."
He said the tenant should be required to remove the dog "within seven days of servicing the injunction order."
He said the agreement was clear that he should not keep any dog or cat in the property on a temporary of permanent basis.
He added: "The defendant acquired the dog contrary to terms of his tenancy agreement and to the pet's policy.
"This is to not keep any animal in a sheltered flat with the exception of a small case of birds or fish.
"It is common ground that the defendant does have a dog. This has been going on for some time, since February. He has been offered the choice between re-homing the dog, or moving to an alternative premises that has its own garden.
"Most tenants would jump to move from a multi-storey block to their own garden but Mr Palmer has not engaged with that.
"Various efforts have been made but he has not engaged with the process. This is a long standing policy that was adopted in 2011/2012. The reasons why you cannot keep pets in a high rise flat is the nuisance it causes to other neighbours.
"We recognise the benefits to having a pet but to have one in such close proximity to others causes problems with urine and faeces in communal areas."
He also highlighted the problem it could cause during any evacuation procedure.
He added: "There is good reason why it is written into the tenancy agreement."
But Judge Vanessa Priddis said: ''"If Mr Palmer was blind and had a guide dog would we say the same?"
"He is disabled and ten minutes to deal with and make a decision on this is not fair. There are technical and legal issues to consider.
"I have to consider his mental state and if he understands that. This has been on-going since February and I need time to take proper advice.
''We don't want to rush it. I am not going to sacrifice dealing with the case fairly for speed."
She then addressed Mr Palmer and told him: "I know this has been very distressing for you.''
One of his neighbours, who accompanied him to court, said: "The housing association may think they are legally right, but they are morally extremely wrong.
''I am a neighbour and there has never been any problem with the dog. She is very well behaved and there have never been any issues.
"No one has complained so why are they doing this to him?"
The case will resume on 9 January 2020 for a full hour hearing to look at aspects around the equalities act and how they correlate with Christopher's case.
A man was hospitalised for three months and lost the use of his legs - after a PARASITE crawled up his penis when he was swimming in a lake
Image by: James Michael
A traveller spent three months in hospital and lost the use of his legs after taking a dip in a lake - when a parasitic worm swam up his penis.
James Michael, 32, went swimming in Lake Malawi in southeastern Africa with pals two years ago, but had no idea and had no idea a parasitic worm had burrowed into his privates.
The parasitic worm laid eggs inside him, which slowly made him so ill his immune system went into overdrive, and attacked his spine.
The marketer was hospitalised for three months while medics fought to get the infection - bilharzia - under control, giving him only a 30 per cent chance of a full recovery.
But after a stint in a wheelchair, suffering digestion and toilet problems, and using crutches for four months he has finally made a full recovery.
James, from Kensington, central London, said: "When I look back at photos from my time in Africa, it's weird to think that's where the parasite crawled up my penis.
"That wasn't exactly how I imagined the trip of a lifetime with my friends going - the whole experience was surreal and strange.
"Plotting a line, it was like going straight from a paradise beach to a hospital bed, almost incapacitated and helpless.
"This journey has made me definitely think more about my health and about how I look after myself - like reading up on health risks when I travel.
"I would urge anyone thinking of getting into Lake Malawi not to.
"It's just not worth the potential risks of a little worm climbing in your body through your parts. It's a grotesque, sickening thought.
"This has been horrendous. It's felt like a never-ending mountain I've had to climb."
James went on the "trip of a lifetime" to Africa with three mates back in August 2017.
They travelled from Zambia to Zimbabwe, before visiting Malawi for five days.
The group of three swam and canoed for three hours a day every day in Lake Malawi - before jetting back to the UK.
"Even though I contracted the infection then, nothing happened and I was able to leave for home thinking nothing was wrong," he said.
In October 2018 James began to notice a loss of feeling in both his legs, and initially thought it was fatigue from cycling.
"I supposed it was just from the exercise, so didn't worry about it," he said.
"But the feeling of fatigue never shifted, and actually got worse that month."
But it got worse over the course of a few weeks, until it was taking him five minutes to climb up 15 steps to his flat.
Image by: James Michael
Image by: James Michael
Image by: James Michael
He went to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in November 2018 when he woke up sweating uncontrollably, and started to worry he had MS or motor neurone disease.
Worried James was given antibiotics and sent home, but still felt terrible, and a week later, with the loss of feeling increasing went back to hospital.
"I explained to them that something serious was going on," he said.
"I went to the neurology department, and they did blood tests to see what was up.
"They determined quite quickly that my immune system was attacking my spine, leading to the loss of control of my legs.
"I was put on a six-month course of steroids to counter this, but they didn't actually know what had caused this."
Tests revealed his immune system was attacking his spine, and he eventually totally lost the use of his legs due to a combination of pain and loss of feeling.
Doctors from the Hospital For Tropical Diseases told panicked James that a parasitic worm had crawled up his penis and laid eggs in his body.
A week before Christmas he was diagnosed with bilharzia - an infection caused by a parasitic worm which lives in fresh water in subtropical and tropical regions - and given suitable medication.
He said: "That killed the infection but I was left basically debilitated.
"They told me there was a 30 per cent chance I'd make a full recovery - ten years from now.
"It was a horrible feeling - I felt completely helpless, and the odds weren't good. I couldn't wish what I've been through on anybody."
He had to spend three months in hospital using a wheelchair, then four months on crutches, until April.
He also had to deal with extreme acne caused by steroids, diarrhoea, and using a catheter because he couldn't use the loo.
James said: "The pain has been like nothing I've ever know. At times, it has been an excruciating physical pain that's been debilitating.
"Early in my recovery - sometime in January - I had a really terrible acne outbreak that went all down my back and down my arms.
"I couldn't sleep for a month because lying on my back hurt. I couldn't really be under running water either, so I had to shower my front instead.
"The loss of feeling and use of my legs affected every part of my life. I wasn't able to exercise much because of the infection, which was hard.
"In January, I couldn't use the toilet normally, so had to use a catheter. That was quite embarrassing for me because it's not something you associate with young guys.
James also lost his appetite and struggled to maintain a sex life with his girlfriend.
He said: "My girlfriend couldn't hug me because just to touch me hurt and we've not been intimate with each other because it's just too painful for me.
"I'll certainly think twice before taking a dip in Lake Malawi."
HELLO KITTY! – These adorable pictures show the real Hello Kittys! - rescue kittens that travel Japan in their owner's arms, bike basket and leads
Image by: Daisuke Nagasawa
These adorable pictures show the real Hello Kittys! - rescue kittens that travel Japan in their owner's arms, bike basket and leads.
Daisuke Nagasawa, 50 and his faithful furry pals Daikichi, 13 and Fuku-Chan, 7 have spent the last three years travelling the land of the rising sun together.
The trio have visited all 47 prefectures across Japan including major landmarks like Mount Fuji, the cherry blossom gardens of Kyoto and the ‘Floating’ Torri gate in Hiroshima.
The rescue cats used to become frustrated with Daisuke’s long absences during his business trips.
After several complaints from cat sitters regarding the moggy's bad behavior Daisuke - who runs a tech company - devised the idea to take them along with him.
Daisuke enjoyed travelling with his cats so much that he started the Instagram page '@the.travellingcats' to share their journey across Japan with the world wide web.
The paw-some pair quickly gained a flock of feline loving followers and are fast becoming social media superstars as they continue to share all of their amazing adventures.
Daisuke shot this latest collection of videos between June and October this year.
The footage includes visits to the ancient 500 year old towers on Itsukushima Island,The floating shrine in Miyajima, Hiroshima as well as a wealth of scenic Japanese countryside
Image by: Daisuke Nagasawa
Image by: Daisuke Nagasawa
Image by: Daisuke Nagasawa
Image by: Daisuke Nagasawa
Daisuke said: “2019 has been great for us. So excited to have two kinds of our travel photo books published. We appear on two TV programs and two radio programs so far, and we had never been expected such lucky things would happen before.”
“Our favourite destination this year was the beach called “Kinenhama” in Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. It exactly looked like Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.”
“The cats enjoy walking by themselves even without leashes, but normally we never allow them to do that for the security reasons.”
"We’ll start to travel up to the Southernmost islands in Okinawa Pref from the beginning of 2020. And in Summer the Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, so we’d like to report the best sightseeing sports for visitors in Tokyo area."
The footage also shows the reunion of tabby Daikichi and his rescuer Kaiko at Lake Akan in Hokkadio.
Although seeing her for the first time in a decade Daikichi recognises Kaiko instantly and lies down next to her for head scratches and belly rubs.
Regarding his kitty's long over due reunion with his rescuer Daisuke said:
"Daikichi was very happy to see Kaiko again as you see in the video. Cats never forget their benefactors"
"She found Dakichi ten years ago and saved him from an extremely cold winter season in Hokkadio"
Video by: Gabriella Petty
This is the moment a wildlife photographer found him self face to face with a curious leopard
Image by: Dillon Nelson
This is the moment a wildlife photographer found himself face to face with a curious leopard cub.
Game ranger Dillon Nelson was filming a mother leopard and her young daughter when the inquisitive cub decided to get a closer look.
The curious 10-month-old cub got up from it’s overlook on a termite mound in Sabi Sands nature reserve, South Africa, and ended up centimetres away from Dillon.
He froze as the young leopard investigated Dillon's boot before eyeing him up and letting out a defensive hiss.
Dillon, 25, said: "I work in the area as a game ranger or nature guide and take people out on Safari and Bush walks.
“We were following a resident female leopard and her 10-month-old cub as they moved through a very dense Monkey Orange and Bush willow thicket.
Image by: Dillon Nelson
Image by: Dillon Nelson
Image by: Dillon Nelson
“She was presumably taking the cub on a walk about, teaching her some skills about hunting and stalking prey.
“The adult went up onto this termite mound to get a better look at her surroundings, with the youngster following right behind.
“With the cub being quite young and inquisitive she came to investigate what my shoe might be. Possibly thinking or hoping it was a scrub hare or squirrel.
“I was quite nervous but more excited than anything else. It's hard to describe how it felt during the sighting because I was trying to keep calm and take in what was happening.
"As I saw her approaching I already knew it was too late for me to move. I thought I should just keep still and allow her to investigate.
"She saw what she needed and then proceeded on her way. Definitely a thrilling experience, and one not many people get to have. “
Video by: Dillon Nelson
A 61-year-old who claimed a sex change from female to male 16 years ago was her ''greatest mistake" has begun transitioning back to a woman
Image by: Jon Mills
A 61-year-old who claimed a sex change from female to male 16 years ago was her ''greatest mistake" has begun transitioning back to a woman.
Debbie Karemer struggling with her sexual identity for years and asked for gender reassignment aged 44 - becoming Lee Harries.
Shockingly, she claims she began private testosterone treatment a DAY later and had her breasts removed after three months - starting an 11-year journey to become a 'man'.
But after years of counselling she finally discovered she wasn't transgender - but was instead suffering with horrific complex PTSD, after years of sexual abuse.
It was too late for Debbie, and now she feels like a woman trapped in "an approximation of a male body".
She's now back to identifying as Debbie - dressing in women's clothing - and is on the NHS waiting list for an operation to reverse the re-assignment.
Six weeks ago she started taking oestrogen and is now being seen by specialists at an NHS gender identity clinic but claimed they are not too sure how to help.
Debbie stopped taking testosterone in February this year and has had to wait nine months for it to completely leave her system.
She said she should never have been allowed to transition and is seeking support from The Detransition Advocacy Network on the next steps.
She's speaking out on the "taboo" subject of surgery regret - gender reassignment reversal - to encourage others to seek talking therapy before surgery.
Debbie, from Hemel Hempstead, said: "I look in the mirror through the eyes of that terrified 15-year-old girl and see this funny little man staring back at me.
"I'm a woman, I'm still Debbie.
"But now I've got no hair. I've got a beard and I've had all my body mutilated.
"I wish I could turn back the clock and just have the foresight of what the nightmare the next 15 years would be.
“I’m a woman I’m not meant to be a bloke. I’m trapped.
“It’s a complete mess - where do you even start? I just regret the decision.
“There is this myth that when an individual ‘changes gender’ they go into hospital one gender and come out ‘all done’.
“That isn’t the case, there are years of surgeries and hormones for the rest of your life.
"I know things are a lot better than they were when I had my surgeries, but there is a big lack of talking therapies.
"I should have been helped.
“I’m sure a lot of transgender men feel the same too but I’m the only one honest and brave one to come out and say it."
Debbie said she was sexually abused by her estranged father - no deceased - when she was a teenager.
She struggled with her sexual identity for years, even developing objectum sexuality - sexual attraction to objects like a white Fender Stratocaster and a fishing rod.
“Looking back it was just a way of coping with the trauma," she said.
Debbie then married her one and only long-term friend Alan in December 1997.
The self loathing became so extreme she almost cut off her breasts with a pair of kitchen scissors.
Image by: Lee Harries
Image by: Jon Mills
Image by: Lee Harries
She first heard of transgender and gender reassignment surgery in 2002 while watching an episode of chat show programme Kilroy in his living room.
“The programme was introduced as a ‘special’ where transgender men and women were on," she said.
“At the time it was a state of mind no body really spoke about.
“I remember seeing them on the TV and thinking ‘that’s me!’
“I suppose they seemed confident in themselves and seemed accepted.
“That’s all I wanted.
“I had spent years feeling I couldn’t live in my own body and hating every single moment.
"Suddenly I saw the answer on Kilroy. It felt like the only answer. It felt like the only way forward."
Later that week Debbie researched transitioning online and discovered a local F2M support group in Camden, London.
There she was given the number of a leading private psychiatrist specialising in gender identity disorder.
Later that week she booked an appointment with a private psychiatrist and was given a two-week course of testosterone to start the very next day, she said.
Just three months later Debbie - who went by the name Lee - underwent a private double bi-lateral mastectomy.
Having lived off benefits since living his factory job, Alan paid for the initial consultation and double bilateral mastectomy costing £3,500.
In November 2004 Debbie had her uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, and a Metoidioplasty - the beginning of surgery to create a penis.
In 2005 she had prosthetic testicles created and in 2008 she had her vagina removed, and a few months later surgeons created a penis using fat and skin from his arm.
In May 2010 excess breast tissue was removed and in April 2013, more surgery was performed on her testicles.
All but the first op - the mastectomy - was performed by private hospitals paid by the NHS, she said.
She said she had some counselling sessions before one of the ops - but that the funding had already been agreed and it was a 'box ticking exercise'.
"At the time it felt like the right thing to do and I was really glad it was happening," she said.
“I remember when I started waking up in the morning and seeing stubble on my face, thinking ‘this is the start of a new life’ and I’m no longer this traumatised girl.
“I wanted to start this life as a new man so I enlisted myself on a computer course."
Image by: Lee Harries
Image by: Lee Harries
Image by: Lee Harries
With hindsight, the first step towards his realisation was when she approached the police in 2012, to report the abuse at the hands of her father.
Prompted by the Jimmy Saville scandal, she gave statements but her father died from emphysema in 2013, before she could be charged, Lee said.
Lee had sought the help of a private counsellor in 2009.
She thought her feelings about her body might stem from transitioning "too late" but after four years, in 2013 - after her final op - she realised her "mistake".
"She started to mention the words 'childhood trauma' and it fell into place," she said.
"It became apparent that transitioning was a big mistake.
"The session where I realised this was so bad that I had a complete break down and panic attack because I realised it was a huge mistake.
"It should never have happened. It was a big wake up call.
"I was traumatised by what had happened in my life and it was misdiagnosed as being transgender.
"I was vulnerable, I just though that if I wasn't a girl my life would be different, I would be different, I would be accepted and that would be it.
"I thought that becoming a man would make me worthy and I would become a different person.
"Looking back now I realise that it was simply a feeling that if I didn't have a vagina, I couldn't be raped.
“But I’m not a man, I am an approximation of a man.
“I feel completely ‘mutilated'.
"I completely missed out on being a woman. I denied my body the chance to go through the menopause.
“I wish I could wake up as Debbie and realise that the last 15 years were just as bad a nightmare."
Debbie primarily blames her father for what has happened to her - but then the private psychiatrist who started off her journey.
"What should have happened differently? Having a different upbringing," she said.
"But I think that the psychiatrist should have picked up on the fact that I was abused.
"I should have had help somewhere along the line."
"I can't fathom the huge increase in gender reassignment surgery.
"There is a huge lack of talking therapies, and that's a problem.
"I know a couple of trans men from when I was going through it and I know they were doing it for the same reasons as me.
“Trans-men and women come out of hospital saying everything is great - but that’s not always the case.
“If they are doing it for the right reasons then that’s fair.
“But nobody is honest when it goes wrong.
“On the inside I’m just not me.
“I’m a different creature on the outside.
“Inside I am still that young girl calling out but I miss looking in the mirror and seeing my feminine self.
“The thing I dream and long to do is to go out for a meal.
“But most of all I just miss the old Debbie.”
Video by: Gabriella Petty
SOLE DESTROYING - A super-tough adventurer has completed a historic feat of endurance - running 2,620 miles across the UK BAREFOOT
Image by: Adam Harnett
A super-tough adventurer has completed a historic feat of endurance - running 2,620 miles across the UK BAREFOOT.
Anna McNuff set out from the Shetland Isles in June 2019 and, after 2,620 miles - the equivalent of 100 marathons - reached the finishing line today (Sun).
The intrepid explorer, who has previously cycled through all 50 US states and run the length of New Zealand, has been obsessed with running without shoes for a while now.
Tough Anna crossed the line, in Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon, south west London, at round 2pm, completing her 'Barefoot Britain' challenge.
Anna said: “It’s been a wonderful, weird, difficult and extraordinary five months.
"I have stepped in poo, glass - and even on a dead rabbit. You don’t have to run 100 marathons barefoot to have an adventure.
"But you do have to take that first step out of your comfort zone. I know that if girls can take those first adventurous steps, then they'll see what they are truly capable of.”
Before setting off, she said: “I’ve had a quiet obsession with minimalist running for a few years now, ever since I read Born to Run and spent time in New Zealand - where many of the kids run around barefoot.
“Feet are quite the complex machine, with over 7,000 nerve endings in each sole and 26 bones in each foot.
“This adventure is a huge experiment – I’m looking to see if I can coax my feet into doing what they were truly built to do, after a lifetime of being squidged up in shoes.”
Both of Anna’s parents were Olympians, and she grew up wanting to follow in their footsteps.
She went on to row for Great Britain, winning a bronze medal at the 2007 European Championships.
But, dogged by injuries in her twenties, she decided to retire and embark on a new life as an adventurer, travelling the world in pursuit of new and daunting endurance challenges and writing two books in the process.
Anna is an ambassador for UK Girl Guiding, and a central part of her mission is “to show the young women of Great Britain that there is more magic in them than they will ever know.”
Throughout her run, she stopped off to talk with groups of Girl Guides across the country, speaking to them about “ the joys of adventure and the great outdoors”.
Image by: Adam Harnett
Image by: Adam Harnett
Image by: Adam Harnett
Image by: Adam Gray SWNS
Image by: Adam Gray SWNS
Image by: Adam Harnett
She said: “I wanted to show girls they can do anything.
"That’s why I’ve run the length of the UK in my bare feet – to show girls and young women that taking risks and doing things that scare them, big or small, can be incredible.
"And being a girl should not stop you from doing anything. I have spoken to thousands of girls in all over the UK and my message has always been ‘be bold, be brave and be you.’
"The girls are always so eager to see my feet and surprised that they don't look all that different to their own – mine just have a bit more dirt on them."
From the Shetland Isles, Anna’s run - which took five months - took her down the northeast coast of Scotland towards Inverness, before heading down to Glasgow and Edinburgh via Aberdeen.
Her route then took her across the border to Newcastle, through the Pennines to Yorkshire before heading to Liverpool and catching a ferry to Belfast.
After running along the Northern Irish coast, she took a ferry back to Wales and headed towards Nottingham, eventually heading down to Bristol and the southeast.
The last legs of her journey saw her cross over to the Isle of Wight, before heading up through Surrey towards London.
Anna encouraged supporters to help her out on the way, either by offering to transport her bag for a stage of the run, giving her somewhere to stay for the night or running alongside her.
She said: “Adventures are about a quest for growth. I figure that if I’m going to stand in front of young girls around the UK and encourage them take on challenges that they believe to be just beyond their reach – then I have to be on that journey too.”
Asked before she set out what she would do if she stepped on glass and cut her foot, Anna said: “I don’t know yet. But I figure I can only control the controllable.
“If I get injured or step on a broken Irn Bru bottle in the outskirts of Glasgow, then I will deal with that then.”
Her adventure has even baffled her own mother.
Anna added: “She thinks I’m bonkers. But then again she’s bonkers too and she raised me to believe in what is possible, rather than focus on what isn’t.
“Therefore, really - this is all her doing.”
A cleaner won two £500,000 Thunderball jackpots in the same draw by MISTAKE and almost asked for her ticket to be void
Image by: Tristan Potter SWNS
A cleaner won two £500,000 Thunderball jackpots in the same draw by MISTAKE and almost asked for her ticket to be void.
Gayle Say, 56, bought multiple lines for three tickets for Tuesday’s draw but realised she had copied the same numbers out twice.
The gran was about to ask the shopkeeper if she could cancel one of the tickets but changed her mind, because "it's not like we will win anyway".
But the lines she duplicated matched the five numbers 4, 7, 20, 23, 27 and the Thunderball 8 meaning she won the £500,000 top prize twice over.
Gayle also matched three numbers and the Thunderball on another line to claim an extra £20.
And in a one-in-a-million chance, she also won an extra £5,000 by matching five numbers and £10 for guessing three numbers on another line.
Gayle, who is married to Philip, 65, quit her job as a cleaner after scooping her mega rollover win.
She said: “I always go to the same shop to buy the tickets but after checking them I realised I’d chosen the same combination twice, one on each ticket.
“I thought about trying to get the ticket void but thought ‘it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I will win anyway’, and left the shop.”
Gayle realised her mistake had doubled her money later when she checked the Thunderball numbers on her phone.
She said: “With the tickets in my hand I rushed inside to tell Philip we had won and at the same time I realised another of the ticket’s had the same number line.
“I kept shouting ‘we’ve won and we’ve won again!’ Philip was scrambling around for his glasses to look at the phone to make sure I was right.
“We were both shaking, my legs were wobbling and we just looked at the phone in shock.”
Retired builder Philip, 65, said: “I immediately started to text the family with the news but no one believed me.
“I then saw a sight I will never forget, my wife dancing around the living room singing Frank Sinatra’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”
The couple, who have four grown-up children and seven grandchildren, plan to put deposits on houses for their family and help them with their rent.
Image by: Tristan Potter SWNS
Image by: Steve Chatterley
Image by: Tristan Potter SWNS
Gayle added: “As well as helping out the family, all I want is for Philip to finish off the extension he is working on, and now with the winnings I can have a new kitchen.
“I resigned last week after we found out about the win, worked my week’s notice and as of today I am officially retired. It feels great.”
The couple bought their Thunderball tickets from Nina’s Convenience Store in Coventry.
Every Tuesday they buy multiple lines on three tickets based on door numbers, anniversaries and family birthdays.
Double lotto winners Gayle and Philip Say, who are both 65, say their first purchase will be a car to ferry around their seven grandchildren.
Gayle said: “My eyes popped out when I found out. I felt like jelly. I thought ‘I’ve got to get this right, it might not be’ I am still trying to get over it now. It’s beginning to sink in.
“We haven’t made a new purchase yet, but it will mostly be going to family and a new car. We’ve had lots of ideas but nothing as of yet.
“We couldn’t believe it. We can make a few more mistakes like that.
“My last shift this morning was great. I won’t have to get up in the cold dark mornings anymore. I have to leave the house by 6.40am and I do weekends so I only have one day off.
“I can lie in on Saturday and Sunday now. It’s amazing I haven’t done that for 28 years. I will find something to do though.
“We will sort one thing out at a time. We will be staying in Coventry though.
“We have used those numbers since it started. I’ve been playing the lottery since it started. I have done HotPicks and the EuroMillions, but I just do Thunderball now.
“I would usually just win little bits, but now I’ve got a big bit!”
Philip said: “After we found out we had two lots of numbers the same, she then said she has got a line with five numbers but without the bonus ball.
“If we had the bonus number, it would have been another £500,000. But a million is enough at the moment.
“I cycle everywhere, so I don’t have a car. But it will be something for the kids. It’s £1million for our family, not for us.
“We want to get a family car because we have grandchildren. I look after them on a Monday and a Tuesday.
“We won’t change, we will be the same. It’s just you have some money to be the same with.
“We still have our numbers for tonight’s draw. I just hope we win that one.”
