Suzy Gasson.
For Black Caps star Blair Tickner, life has always revolved around cricket. But when his wife Sarah was diagnosed with leukaemia just a week into their dream overseas adventure, the fast bowler found himself facing the biggest challenge of his life – one that put everything into perspective.
In March 2024, life was looking pretty good for the Hawke’s Bay couple. They’d flown to the UK for Blair, 33, to take up an exciting three-month cricket contract in Derbyshire.
Sarah, 36, was on maternity leave with their gorgeous eight-month-old daughter Florence and was looking forward to spending some quality time with her husband while he pursued his sporting dreams. But their plans quickly took a dramatic turn.
“Just one week over there, I started getting bruises on my legs,” shares Sarah. “I’d also had a really heavy period and was incredibly fatigued. But I had a baby who wasn’t sleeping through the night, we’d moved time zones, I was eight months post-partum and everything was a bit upside down, so I thought it was probably just part of that.”
However, then the bruises became bigger and multiplied, Sarah experienced night sweats and was struggling to get out of bed each morning. She needed several coffees and a shower to feel human.
She recalls, “By the third week, I knew something wasn’t right.”
A visit to Blair’s team doctor led to a blood test in a town 45 minutes away. The couple enjoyed the picturesque drive through the English countryside, then headed home to bed.
Sarah says, “I woke up to missed calls saying I needed to contact my doctor as soon as possible.”
The news was devastating: “It looks like leukaemia.”
Sarah’s test results were alarming.
“She was literally at risk of bleeding internally,” explains Blair. “It was pretty serious.”
Sarah was rushed to hospital, where she was admitted for further tests, including a bone marrow biopsy to determine exactly what type of leukaemia she had. The diagnosis was acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Blair was with his team on a match day when he got the news.
“We’d just done the toss and were heading out to warm up,” he remembers. “I knew she wasn’t feeling well, but I certainly didn’t think it was going to be something like that. I missed a call from her, rang back and found out over the phone.”
With the match already under way and him legally contracted to play in it, Blair had to remain with the team for the full four-day game, but they let him get to Sarah when he could.
“For four days, it was a rinse-and-repeat routine,” he says. “A teammate’s wife kindly looked after Flo, so I’d drop her off at 7am, go to the hospital, play the game, have dinner, pick Flo up and do it all again. It was pretty daunting because we didn’t have any support over there.”
Blair even managed a career-best performance during one of those matches. Within days, Sarah was transferred to a specialist hospital in Nottingham, where she
spent the next five weeks.
“I was in an awful headspace,” she admits. “I couldn’t leave the ward because I had no immune system. Visitors had to don full PPE to keep me safe. Worst of all, because I had no immunity, they couldn’t have Florence on the ward. For just over a week, I didn’t see her at all, which was really hard after seeing her every day of her life.”
Sarah’s worried parents leapt on a plane from Hawke’s Bay, arriving just minutes before their daughter’s first chemotherapy session. “It was such a relief to have them there,” she tells.
The first month was tough. The steroids caused extreme mood swings, insomnia and an insatiable appetite, while chemo left Sarah vulnerable to serious infections. At five weeks, the couple made the decision to cut Blair’s contract short and return to New Zealand so Sarah could continue her care closer to family.
Blair, Sarah and Florence spent the next seven months in Palmerston North, where Sarah received intensive chemo under the care of a specialist team. Sarah’s mum Jo took time off work to help care for Florence, while Blair’s mum flew over from the Gold Coast to lend a hand.
“Having someone there all the time, so I could go to hospital with Sarah and know Flo was being looked after was huge,” says Blair. “We’ve become so close with Sarah’s parents because of that time and they have a really special bond with Florence – Nana is definitely the favourite!”
Living away from home, the family was also grateful for their support worker from Blood Cancer NZ and accommodation from charity Ozanam House.
“Altogether, I had just over eight months of intense treatment,” Sarah says. “At one stage, I was having a blood transfusion every four or five days, sometimes for up to three hours. I’m so grateful to the people who donate blood. They genuinely saved my life.”
Sarah also underwent lumbar punctures, where chemo was administered directly into her spinal fluid to help prevent the cancer spreading to her central nervous system. One procedure left her with a severe headache, while another treatment during her final week of chemo saw her experience confusion and weakness. She also couldn’t lift her right arm and her face began to droop.
“It looked like I’d had a stroke,” she tells. “At one point, I couldn’t move my leg and Blair had to carry me back to my room.”
The cricketer adds, “It was pretty scary. When you don’t know what’s happening, that’s when it gets really frightening.”
Thankfully, scans ruled out a stroke and doctors diagnosed a rare neurological reaction to one of the chemo drugs. After a week of intensive treatment, Sarah gradually regained her movement and, this August, she had her final chemo tablet.
Following more than two years of treatment, she’s officially in remission but will continue to have regular blood tests for the next five years.
Now, sitting in their Hawke’s Bay backyard with their three-year-old racing around in the sunshine, it’s obvious how happy they are to be all together back home.
As pint-sized firecracker Florence calls out for Dad from the trampoline, Sarah laughs, “She’s hilarious. She’s so energetic and bubbly but also really caring. She’s into athletics, dance, swimming and her friends – she’s definitely a bit of a three-nager!”
Blair adds that Flo is already showing some cricketing promise. “She’s pretty good at catching,” he smiles.
Sarah has gradually returned to working part-time at the couple’s busy Hastings café 13th Stag, which they’ve owned for seven years, while Blair is back doing what he loves, playing international cricket, hopefully with a busy summer ahead. But his and Sarah’s journey has forever changed the way he approaches the sport.
“I used to put so much pressure on myself,” he says. “I’d go into a game worrying about not performing and if something didn’t go right, I’d spiral. Cricket was my identity and everything to me. It’s a high-pressure environment, with TV cameras, up to 100,000 fans watching and people abusing you on social media.
“But after what Sarah’s been through, now I have perspective and can play with a smile. Playing cricket for your country is amazing, but it’s not life and death.
Now when I play, I just want to enjoy it.”
Nodding, Sarah agrees that even the simplest things have taken on a whole new meaning for her. “The first time I went for a run after treatment, I was nearly in tears. I was just so grateful I could go for a run. I appreciate things so much more.”
Her experience with cancer has also made Sarah determined to be there for others facing a similar illness.
She says, “If someone has just been diagnosed and needs someone to talk to, I’m happy for them to reach out through Instagram or Facebook. I’d really like to be that person for someone else.”
Sarah also hopes people will understand just how important blood donation can be, adding, “I had around 12 blood transfusions throughout treatment. People who donate blood have quite literally saved my life.”
And while Sarah is still recovering from a recent kidney operation to remove a suspected tumour, which doctors are optimistic is a benign cyst, the couple is looking ahead to family adventures and hopefully a few trips to watch Blair play.
“I want to be there for him now, like he was there for me,” says Sarah. “We’d love to travel more and spend time together as a family.”
For a couple who had their world turned upside down almost overnight, the biggest lesson has been a simple one.
Sarah smiles, “Now we don’t let the small things piss us off. I’m lucky to be alive, and we’ve got an amazing family, great friends, the café community and cricket. I can get up, have a shower and watch my daughter grow up. Those are the things that really matter.”
To learn more about blood cancer or to donate to Blood Cancer NZ, visit bloodcancer.org.nz. For more info on donating blood, visit nzblood.co.nz.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
