Chris is the FASA Secretary, and together with his wife Barbara were the founding members of FASA with Barbara the inaugural President.
Chris and Barbara had not heard of Fanconi Anaemia until their daughter Amelia was diagnosed at age 23, following surgery for bowel cancer and a catastrophic brush with chemotherapy in 2016.
Their learning curve was steep. In 2017 Chris and Amelia had the privilege of joining the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund (now Fanconi Cancer Foundation) adult meeting in Atlanta, USA. Barbara attended the meeting a year later in LA. It was a life-changing experience for both of them. The work FARF does in funding research and bringing scientists together was awe-inspiring. But it was the sense of community gathered under FARF’s banner that affected them most.
Meeting other FA adults and kids, meeting their families and carers, sharing our different-but-similar FA journeys – this was a revelation to all of them.
“FARF and the FAmily offer hope. We’ve learnt that hope is one of the most powerful forces in our lives. We would like this local support group to build on that hope.”
