John Dabell
@johndabell.bsky.social
Incurable optimist living with incurable cancer. Hopepunk, Grit Spreader & Force Multiplier. The difference between a warrior and a worrier is a couple of vowels.
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John Dabell
@johndabell.bsky.social
· Dec 6
Donate to Help John Fight Incurable Head and Neck Cancer, organized by John Dabell
Welcome to my page and thank you for stopping by!
I have incurable hea… John Dabell needs your support for Help John Fight Incurable Head and Neck Cancer
gofund.me
I've just launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe and I hope that you'd be kind enough to share, support, or donate. Thank you!
gofund.me/bb538391
gofund.me/bb538391
Note to self:
It’s easy to cave in.
It’s easy to give up.
But that’s not the path of someone who has tasted fear, stared down the unthinkable, and kept moving.
You’ve been bent, battered, burned, but never beaten.
Your courage is chronic. Your hope is stubborn. Your grit is the quiet....
It’s easy to cave in.
It’s easy to give up.
But that’s not the path of someone who has tasted fear, stared down the unthinkable, and kept moving.
You’ve been bent, battered, burned, but never beaten.
Your courage is chronic. Your hope is stubborn. Your grit is the quiet....
November 30, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Note to self:
It’s easy to cave in.
It’s easy to give up.
But that’s not the path of someone who has tasted fear, stared down the unthinkable, and kept moving.
You’ve been bent, battered, burned, but never beaten.
Your courage is chronic. Your hope is stubborn. Your grit is the quiet....
It’s easy to cave in.
It’s easy to give up.
But that’s not the path of someone who has tasted fear, stared down the unthinkable, and kept moving.
You’ve been bent, battered, burned, but never beaten.
Your courage is chronic. Your hope is stubborn. Your grit is the quiet....
Recovery is slow and I'm sort of living in a lockdown again as I'm too vulnerable for public places and being around people. This David Shrigley card sums up my day-to-day pretty well!
November 28, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Recovery is slow and I'm sort of living in a lockdown again as I'm too vulnerable for public places and being around people. This David Shrigley card sums up my day-to-day pretty well!
Update: had an X-ray & my right lung is still leaking air, so the chest drain has to stay in. Signed my consent forms for the RIG tube procedure next week. Thank you for supporting us. It makes every bit of difference as we navigate this rough patch. gofund.me/822b3760d
November 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Update: had an X-ray & my right lung is still leaking air, so the chest drain has to stay in. Signed my consent forms for the RIG tube procedure next week. Thank you for supporting us. It makes every bit of difference as we navigate this rough patch. gofund.me/822b3760d
When you are in a hole, you awaken the life force that is sisu:
IN: “I can’t do this”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “This is too much”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “Why me?”
OUT: Sisu
When you think you can not go on, you can. This Finnish engine keeps you moving.
IN: “I can’t do this”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “This is too much”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “Why me?”
OUT: Sisu
When you think you can not go on, you can. This Finnish engine keeps you moving.
November 25, 2025 at 9:32 AM
When you are in a hole, you awaken the life force that is sisu:
IN: “I can’t do this”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “This is too much”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “Why me?”
OUT: Sisu
When you think you can not go on, you can. This Finnish engine keeps you moving.
IN: “I can’t do this”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “This is too much”
OUT: Sisu
IN: “Why me?”
OUT: Sisu
When you think you can not go on, you can. This Finnish engine keeps you moving.
Off to feed the ducks and geese peas, kibbled maize, red dari, and wheat. Strictly no bread! I've got a 2 hour feed through my nose when I get back.
November 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Off to feed the ducks and geese peas, kibbled maize, red dari, and wheat. Strictly no bread! I've got a 2 hour feed through my nose when I get back.
If you are in a house of pain, then you might as well play it! Pretty shattered again today but it's hour by hour with ups and downs.
November 22, 2025 at 8:27 PM
If you are in a house of pain, then you might as well play it! Pretty shattered again today but it's hour by hour with ups and downs.
It's hard to believe that a few weeks ago, I was in Critical Care on a ventilator with my heart, kidneys & liver failing. Now, I've just managed a litter pick. I had to stop after one bag as I'm not strong enough yet, but at least I've done something to help keep the area tidier.
November 22, 2025 at 1:14 PM
It's hard to believe that a few weeks ago, I was in Critical Care on a ventilator with my heart, kidneys & liver failing. Now, I've just managed a litter pick. I had to stop after one bag as I'm not strong enough yet, but at least I've done something to help keep the area tidier.
Porridge oats and lettuce for the ducks this morning. Survival is the name of the game for all of us. Walked a tad further today, so that's an improvement.
November 21, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Porridge oats and lettuce for the ducks this morning. Survival is the name of the game for all of us. Walked a tad further today, so that's an improvement.
Hospital visit update: my lung is still healing and so the drain stays in for another week. Immunotherapy treatment has also been paused. My chest, feeding and weight loss all need to get better first. It’s overwhelming, but I’m holding on to the belief that my body can still fight fiercely and...
November 19, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Hospital visit update: my lung is still healing and so the drain stays in for another week. Immunotherapy treatment has also been paused. My chest, feeding and weight loss all need to get better first. It’s overwhelming, but I’m holding on to the belief that my body can still fight fiercely and...
It's all good in the wood. The best part of my day is getting outdoors. It's colder now, and I have no meat on my bones but that fresh air is medicine. Thank you for all the support I'm receiving. If I don't reply to a message, don't think I'm being rude. I do read everything.
November 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
It's all good in the wood. The best part of my day is getting outdoors. It's colder now, and I have no meat on my bones but that fresh air is medicine. Thank you for all the support I'm receiving. If I don't reply to a message, don't think I'm being rude. I do read everything.
I'm not yet strong enough to take Hetty for a walk as she would pull on my torn lung. So, this is a posed picture instead! My wife now has the reins! I can play Pooh-sticks though!
November 17, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I'm not yet strong enough to take Hetty for a walk as she would pull on my torn lung. So, this is a posed picture instead! My wife now has the reins! I can play Pooh-sticks though!
Not out of the woods yet. I'm not sure I have ever been! Finding a way.
November 16, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Not out of the woods yet. I'm not sure I have ever been! Finding a way.
I've not cried for a long time. Yesterday I did. It wasn't feeling sorry for myself. The tears flowed because of my wife and daughter. I want better for them. They deserve so much more. I fight for them.
November 14, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I've not cried for a long time. Yesterday I did. It wasn't feeling sorry for myself. The tears flowed because of my wife and daughter. I want better for them. They deserve so much more. I fight for them.
Hospital update: my lung’s not fully inflated yet, so the chest drain remains for as long as it takes - progress is progress, even when it’s slow and takes its own steady pace. Big effort this morning. Healing isn’t linear - just grateful for every breath that works a little harder.
Donate to Help John Fight Incurable Head and Neck Cancer, organized by John Dabell
Welcome to my page and thank you for stopping by!
I have incurable hea… John Dabell needs your support for Help John Fight Incurable Head and Neck Cancer
gofund.me
November 13, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Hospital update: my lung’s not fully inflated yet, so the chest drain remains for as long as it takes - progress is progress, even when it’s slow and takes its own steady pace. Big effort this morning. Healing isn’t linear - just grateful for every breath that works a little harder.
Today's achievement: I managed to wash and dress myself. It's not easy with a chest drain and feeding tube but I did it, in a fashion. Little wins.
November 12, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Today's achievement: I managed to wash and dress myself. It's not easy with a chest drain and feeding tube but I did it, in a fashion. Little wins.
When I received my first Stage IV cancer diagnosis, my understanding of the miracle of life hit home. My second diagnosis of Stage IV incurable widened that awareness into something far deeper and more sacred. And now, with recent events, I find myself living on a level of understanding I never...
November 11, 2025 at 5:43 PM
When I received my first Stage IV cancer diagnosis, my understanding of the miracle of life hit home. My second diagnosis of Stage IV incurable widened that awareness into something far deeper and more sacred. And now, with recent events, I find myself living on a level of understanding I never...
I'm going to show folks. 2 weeks ago today, I was in ICU with a collapsed lung and multi-organ failure. Life-saving expertise, care and support from so many talented people means that today, I'm walking around my local ponds with a chest drain and feeding tube.
November 9, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I'm going to show folks. 2 weeks ago today, I was in ICU with a collapsed lung and multi-organ failure. Life-saving expertise, care and support from so many talented people means that today, I'm walking around my local ponds with a chest drain and feeding tube.
My posts at the moment might not reflect my daily positive narrative of the last 5 years but I am far from done. I'm receiving incredible support on here. Unfortunately, a tiny minority haven't, calling for me to 'be put of my misery' which I find abhorrent.
November 8, 2025 at 6:43 PM
My posts at the moment might not reflect my daily positive narrative of the last 5 years but I am far from done. I'm receiving incredible support on here. Unfortunately, a tiny minority haven't, calling for me to 'be put of my misery' which I find abhorrent.
I'm back home now, which, of course, is brilliant. I was struggling on the ward. The realities of being nose fed and having a lung drain are huge, though, so there is an enormous burden on my wife as she is now effectively my full-time carer. There is so much I can not do yet.
November 6, 2025 at 8:31 PM
I'm back home now, which, of course, is brilliant. I was struggling on the ward. The realities of being nose fed and having a lung drain are huge, though, so there is an enormous burden on my wife as she is now effectively my full-time carer. There is so much I can not do yet.
Today is the first day where I've started to get my head around what multi-organ failure means and how close I was to dying. I’m absolutely shattered, and it's just hit me that my recovery is going to take months and months and months. This has been far bigger than I realised.
November 5, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Today is the first day where I've started to get my head around what multi-organ failure means and how close I was to dying. I’m absolutely shattered, and it's just hit me that my recovery is going to take months and months and months. This has been far bigger than I realised.
1 week ago I was on a ventilator & hooked up to various gubbins & now catheter is out, & I have one less chest drain. Lung not fully inflated yet & big decisions have to be made about my feeding as it is currently going through my nose & possibly permanently so. Hate being on the ward.
November 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
1 week ago I was on a ventilator & hooked up to various gubbins & now catheter is out, & I have one less chest drain. Lung not fully inflated yet & big decisions have to be made about my feeding as it is currently going through my nose & possibly permanently so. Hate being on the ward.
I've worked hard on my mental fitness over the years and always knew that it was crucial. In hospital, this gets a severe workout as there is so much to cope with. I'm certainly being stretched at the moment and trying to maintain my discipline.
November 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I've worked hard on my mental fitness over the years and always knew that it was crucial. In hospital, this gets a severe workout as there is so much to cope with. I'm certainly being stretched at the moment and trying to maintain my discipline.
I am now off ICU and on a ward. Still a way to go yet. May have to have a permanent feed to prevent this happening again. Extremely challenging situation and tough days ahead.
October 31, 2025 at 5:50 PM
I am now off ICU and on a ward. Still a way to go yet. May have to have a permanent feed to prevent this happening again. Extremely challenging situation and tough days ahead.
Still in ICU but off ventilator. In a bad way. Had multiple organ failure and life-saving op. Told I'm doing well but it doesn't feel like that. Being fed through my nose. This is the most undignified experience of my life. Need help with all personal care. No photo. Too rough.
October 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Still in ICU but off ventilator. In a bad way. Had multiple organ failure and life-saving op. Told I'm doing well but it doesn't feel like that. Being fed through my nose. This is the most undignified experience of my life. Need help with all personal care. No photo. Too rough.
I'm now in hospital with a collapsed lung which Docs are unable to drain. Without an op, the infections will kill me. Op is tomorrow am. My family and I need your love, support, shares and help more than ever. Thank you. I will update further when I can.
gofund.me/41874cbe6
gofund.me/41874cbe6
October 25, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I'm now in hospital with a collapsed lung which Docs are unable to drain. Without an op, the infections will kill me. Op is tomorrow am. My family and I need your love, support, shares and help more than ever. Thank you. I will update further when I can.
gofund.me/41874cbe6
gofund.me/41874cbe6