A young man has died from the same condition that killed his father. Carl Watson, 22, passed away at his home on Hull's Bransholme estate having suffered with Hodgkin's lymphoma since his teens.
The deadly cancer also took the life of his father Les about two years ago. When Carl died at home, he was surrounded by his family, including mum Debbie.
"All he wanted was to be a daddy and have a little 'mini me' of his own," she said. "He always put family first. At his father's funeral, he stood up and said he was the man of the house now and he was going to look after me.
"He kept fighting until the end and was hanging on. I said to him 'just go see your dad' and that's when he went."
Carl was well-known for his fundraising efforts and supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Castle Hill Hospital, where he received treatment. Over the years, the Hull FC fan helped raise thousands of pounds for the charity, which supports young people with cancer. But about ten weeks ago, he started to feel a lot of pain and was admitted to hospital.
His sister Gemma Dimmock said: "The doctors thought the cancer might have spread to his liver. They moved him from the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit to Ward 32 and treated him for pneumonia.
"He was in hospital for 11 days, then he came out for three and was back in for two. Then they finally said he probably had about 24 to 48 hours left to live – but that was ten weeks ago."
Carl decided he wanted to be at home so he could be with his family – Gemma, his other sisters Jennifer Watson and Nicki Stork, mum Debbie and his extended family and cousins.
Debbie, 48, said: "He was very poorly, but he lived each day just going from day to day. He still kept fighting until the very end. He would still try to come downstairs every day – it was only for the last week that he was in bed."
Last week on Wednesday, family members went round, knowing it would not be long before Carl died. He then passed away on Thursday, November 7, at 6.44am in his bedroom in Grassington Close.
Debbie said: "He lived for his car and loved driving around in it. Every time I see an Audi now, it will remind me of him. We're taking his car to his service to be part of his funeral procession."
Carl did not like to speak much about his own mortality, but did mention a few requests for his funeral. Mourners will leave Debbie's house at 11.30am on Friday and arrive at Chanterlands Avenue crematorium at 12.30pm. A humanist service will then take place in the large chapel.
White horses with Hull FC flags will pull a carriage with the coffin, which will be accompanied by a variety of different cars – a nod to Carl's passion for cars.
Gemma said: "He said he wanted everyone to wear Hull FC ties, but that no one was allowed to dress in casual stuff like jeans. He said if people aren't dressed nicely, they're not allowed in."
A wake is taking place after the service at Skipper's Pub in Grampian Way, Bransholme.
