Scots nurse's heartbreak as stepdad dies unexpectedly days into cancer treatment

RONNIE WAS TAKEN TO A&E WHEN HIS HEALTH DETERIORATED AND WAS GIVEN THE DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS. JUST DAYS AFTER STARTING TREATMENT, HE DIED. 04:30, 22 May 2025 A Scots nurse is paying

tribute to her stepdad who tragically died unexpectedly just days after starting treatment for blood cancer. In April 2024, Ronnie Haston died from myeloma, just two weeks after he was

admitted to hospital. He only had two doses of chemotherapy when he died out of the blue, reports Edinburgh Live. Beth, Ronnie's stepdaughter, is now gearing up to take part in the

Edinburgh Marathon in his honour. The 42-year-old mother-of-two is running in aid of Myeloma UK, a charity dedicated to funding research into treatment and a cure for the disease. Ronnie was

'fit and healthy' before being admitted to hospital and did not suffer from any underlying health conditions. He had starting making plans for his retirement, having owned a

hearing devices business, when he became unwell. He was given laxatives for constipation before becoming fatigued and suffering muscle pain. Beth's mum Anne eventually took Ronnie to

A&E to get seen and tests showed his kidney function had plummeted to just 14 per cent. Article continues below He had extremely high calcium levels and was eventually diagnosed with

myeloma. Sadly Ronnie caught hospital-acquired pneumonia and was transferred from St John’s Hospital in Livingston to the Western General in Edinburgh. He passed away four days after

starting chemotherapy. Beth said: “It was two weeks from admission to hospital until he died. He was fit and healthy, he had no underlying health conditions. It was a complete shock to us

all. He didn’t get to enjoy one day of retirement with my mum or do any of the future they had planned together. “I signed up to the Edinburgh Marathon on the evening of Ronnie’s funeral. I

knew I wanted to do it for Myeloma UK. I want to support other families; I don’t want anybody else to go through this. “Ronnie always was a strong presence in our family. He was a gentle

man. He was always someone you could lean on. He’d never judge, he’d always support you and just show up. When I ran a 10-mile eight years ago, my mum and him were my biggest supporters.

They ran across Edinburgh to meet me at as many points as they could. “I’d had him in my life since I was 19. You don’t realise the impact someone had until you lose them.” Myeloma is an

incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow and affects more than 33,000 people in the UK. There are over 2,300 people living with myeloma in Scotland. Despite being the third most

common type of blood cancer, myeloma is difficult to detect as symptoms are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions. While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority

of cases. According to charity Myeloma UK, over a third of people with myeloma attend at least three appointments at their GP practice before getting a diagnosis. “They’d said he would start

chemo and they had a full plan,” added Beth. “They said he would be a good candidate for a stem cell transplant. He ended up having two lots of chemo whist very unwell with pneumonia and

then two days later he died. He pretty much went into multi-organ failure. It’s shocking, completely shocking.” A busy mum to Daniel, four, and Sam, two, Beth had her work cut out when she

signed up to the Edinburgh Marathon. “It’s my first marathon, but when I decide to do something I do it,” she went on. “I know I can do at least half but I’ll probably have to push through

the last six miles. I tend to run at night when my husband’s here and the children are sleeping. I think of Ronnie and my mum when I run – the last year without him has been awful for her.

"If she can wake up without him and can put one foot in front of the other then I can take it one step at a time too.” Beth has already collected more than £1,500 and is well on her way

to beat her £2,000 target. To support Beth go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/beths-miles-for-myeloma. For more information about myeloma or to get in touch with Myeloma UK go to

www.myeloma.org.uk. Myeloma UK runs a free Infoline on 0800 980 3332. Article continues below JOIN THE DAILY RECORD WHATSAPP COMMUNITY! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by

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