‘Broken arm’ turned out to be blood cancer: Google worker, 33, has been in hospital for months and is fighting miracle recovery after being told he had 24 hours to live
- James McGill, 33, from Dublin sought medical attention for broken arm last year
- Injury, from two years ago, never healed properly and he had complications
- He began to lose movement in his left leg and kept tripping over
- After seeing consultants, McGill was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer
A Google worker has been in hospital fighting for his life for months after he was told the broken arm he had been admitted for was actually blood cancer.
James McGill, 33, who works as a senior account manager at Google, was admitted to hospital after seeking help for his broken arm which was not healing properly around December.
McGill, who works for Google’s media team in Dublin, Ireland, broke his arm a couple years before but started having further complications towards the end of last year. He began to trip up more frequently and realised he was losing power in his left leg.
He also lost the ability to swallow or drink.
Thirty-three-year old Google manager James McGill from Dublin found out he had blood cancer after his arm, which he had broken a couple of years ago, had failed to heal properly. Pictured: Before (left) and after (right) he found out about his cancer
McGill, pictured, worked as a senior account manager for Google before discovering his terrible illness
After an MRI scan in January, McGill was told that he had a lesion on his brain, which later diagnosed as lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
The 33-year-old dropped from 9st4lb to just 5st8lb by May and was given between a day or two days to live by consultants.
In a bid to raise £100,000 to make his home liveable for his condition, McGill’s friends set up a GoFundMe page.
Telling his story, McGill said: ‘I broke my arm a couple of years ago, but it never seemed to heal properly.
‘I slowly started to lose movement in it so went to see a few consultants, but they didn’t really have an answer.
‘Last December I slowly started to lose power in my left leg and found myself tripping up a lot. So I booked myself in for an MRI scan and they found a lesion on my brain.’
McGill went on to describe the moment he was told the devastating news at his parent’s house.
‘I took the call and just broke down in my dad’s arms when I told him what it was,’ he said.
‘It wasn’t long after that when I lost the ability to swallow or drink.
‘They did an operation to find out what it was, and it turned out to be lymphoma. I’ve been bed-bound ever since.’
Due to coronavirus lockdown, McGill’s the only visitors allowed to see him while in hospital were his parents.
He said: ‘I couldn’t even tell them in person because they weren’t allowed in that day. I had to tell them on FaceTime.
The 33-year-old dropped in weight to just 81lb in May and was given between a day or two days to live by consultants
‘By May I was drastically underweight – I had gone from 59kg (9st4lb) to 37kg (5st8lb) in the space of a few months.
‘At one point the doctors said I had 24 hours to live – but I didn’t know anything about it. I was hallucinating that I was having dinner with Kim Kardashian in London.
‘Somehow I managed to pull through, and I think I’m slowly getting a bit better.
‘I had multiple rounds of chemo which was a huge battle on the body and mind. Each time I fought hard. The medical team here in Beaumont have been amazing.
‘I now want to get home for Christmas. That’s the target. After where I was, it would mean everything if I could do it.
‘The house needs loads of adjustments to make it livable. I’ll need hoists on the ceiling, extensions downstairs, it’ll be a lot of work.
‘My friends set up the GoFundMe to get me some presents because they knew I was miserable and I had told them I didn’t like the hospital towels.
‘It’s overwhelming to see how much money has been raised so far. It’s really given me a boost over the past few days because it shows how many people are in my corner.’
