New dad’s horror discovery while overseas

An Aussie couple who recently found out they were expecting their first child have had their world turned upside after receiving devastating news.

A couple who recently relocated to Southeast Asia and found out they were expecting their first child have had their world turned upside after a devastating diagnosis.

Brendan and Annie Williams, from Blacktown in Sydney’s west, moved to Vietnam - Annie’s birthplace and home of her family - just over a year ago.

The couple, who tied the knot in 2019, decided to head overseas so Annie could finish her doctorate. She was also offered a teaching position at a university in Ho Chi Min.

During their time overseas, to their delight, they found out they were to become first-time parents to a little girl, with Annie due to give birth in April this year.

However, two weeks ago, their world drastically changed after Brendan suddenly fell ill.

The 37-year-old has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) which his sister Karein said had come on “drastically fast, with no warning”.

AML is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow

Brendan and Annie Williams had their world turned upside after Brendan was given a devastating diagnosis. Picture: GoFundMe

“He went to the doctors after experiencing headaches and swelling in his feet,” Karein told news.com.au.

As Karein was coordinating a return for Brendan to Australia for treatment for his AML, he contracted bacterial pneumonia and a fungal blood infection while in the hospital.

She explained that due to the nature of the pneumonia, Brendan needed to be intubated and placed in an induced coma to help his breathing – which he has been in for almost two weeks.

“Annie told me Brendan had a full medical health check in August and there was nothing indicating leukaemia,” she said.

Brendan, who is due to be a first time dad in April, has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

“It has come on so suddenly. When they did a blood test, his white blood cells were 18 times higher than what they should have been – so he got the leukaemia showing in his system in just eight weeks.”

According to the Leukaemia Foundation, AML is characterised by an overproduction of immature white blood cells, called myeloblasts or leukaemia blasts.

“These cells crowd the bone marrow, preventing it from making normal blood cells. They can also spill out into the bloodstream and circulate around the body. Due to their immaturity they are unable to function properly to prevent or fight infection.”

Karein said her brother also contracted a fever over the last week and at one stage doctors told Annie they didn’t think her husband was going to make it.

As a result, both Karein and her father, who live in Sydney, were able to organise emergency passports from the Vietnamese consulate to visit Brendan.

“We flew out last Tuesday to go see him but we were only allowed to see him once as he’s in ICU,” she said.

“It was very confronting and difficult to see him like that.”

The couple from Sydney, currently live in Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam.

Brendan is currently in a stable condition with the family hoping and praying he overcomes the phenomena so they can get him back home for further treatment.

“Annie hasn’t left his side and we had to convince to get some rest and sleep at a hotel as she’s five months pregnant,” his sister said.

Karein said the ICU is costing Annie roughly $2000 per day, and she is expected to pay in advance, adding to the stress and pressure of the heartbreaking situation.

To help assist Annie, Karein, who returned home from Vietnam two days ago, set up a GoFundMe.

“This fundraiser is entirely to help support her with this matter, and to allow Brendan the time he needs to recover to make the journey home and meet his daughter for the first time,” Karein wrote on the fundraising page.

She told news.com.au she set a target of $5000 and never expected it to reach $10,000, adding that she’s blown away by the level of generosity the family have received.

“Please feel free to share any of this with your community, as this GoFundMe page will be left open for a while and all proceeds will be directed to Annie to pay for the hospital bills,” she wrote.

Karein said it was only a few weeks ago they were celebrating the wonderful baby news, only to now have their worlds rocked.

“It (leukaemia) came on so quickly, with absolutely no warning.”