15 Jan 2026

“I used to go at 1000 miles an hour and this has been a crazy shift from one life to another.”

Mooni’s symptoms began in winter 2022 with major fatigue and noticeably pale skin. At the time he was working between 12 and 16 hours a day running his restaurant, catering company and takeaway.

“Sometimes we were feeding 10,000 people a day including refugees and asylum seekers,” said Mooni now 27, who lives in Clayton in Staffordshire. “I was living at home with mum and dad but was so busy all I would do is eat, sleep and shower there. I knew I was tired and an unusual colour but I just ignored it.

Mooni before and after chemo

“I was also going to the gym five or six times a week, playing football two to three times a week and was never ill. But then I went to Dubai to see my brother – we have some properties out there and he does rentals. I’d just won a Lloyds Bank business excellence award and I was on top of the world -until I became seriously ill with food poisoning.

“I eventually booked an emergency flight back as I just couldn’t seem to get over it. The GP gave me antibiotics which did work – I could eat a little again. That was the start of December and then the whole family got together for Christmas holidays. I am one of 10 siblings so we had a house full, and a few people were ill. I got the flu and became so weak I couldn’t walk five metres without support. By that time I’d lost a crazy amount of weight and had nose bleeds. I used to eat five or six times a day and I was a big man but I had no appetite.”

Mooni kept hoping he would recover and didn’t seek anymore medical treatment until a dramatic turn of events.

Mooni with the nurses who looked after him at Stoke Hospital

“I woke up one morning and had lost sight in my right eye. It was about 80% black. I went straight to the GP who sent me to A&E at the Royal Stoke Hospital. They took blood tests and then kept on coming back to take more and more so I knew something wasn’t right. Then a nurse took me to a side room and told me the devastating news I had blood cancer.”

On 20th December 2022 Mooni was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) alongside H1N1 variant flu infection.

“They said my white cell count had effectively swapped with my red cell, 205 white cells count to 33 red blood cell count. They should have been the other way round. I was told I had between two days and two weeks to live without treatment. I was in total shock. They started me on mild chemo and gave me bags and bags of blood. By that time I was so ill I was in and out of sleep. One by one my family came in and I was being strong telling them I am going to be okay but everyone was crying and it was like them saying their last goodbyes to me before the doctors sedated me into a coma.”

Mooni was in an induced coma for around four weeks. Doctors then gave his family the devastating news that he was showing no signs of recovery. They said that if the family decided to turn off his life support, there would be a 50/50 chance as to whether he would wake up.

“But I did wake up – on 20th January which was my mum’s birthday. I couldn’t believe I’d been in a coma for that amount of time. But in a way that’s when the war began.”

Mooni after chemo

Seven rounds of chemotherapy eventually put Mooni into remission. He spent over 500 days as a hospital inpatient and developed sepsis six times.

“I was sick all the time and wasted away. I started at 85kg and by the end was down to 44kg – nearly half. I had a naso-gastric tube to feed me and a tracheostomy. But during the whole time I stayed positive. I was told I had the Inversion 16 gene which was the favourable one and I thought even if there was just an 11% chance of survival, I could be in that 11%. It helped that I had such a strong support network with all my family and friends.”

In September 2023 a biopsy showed the treatment had worked – Mooni had just 0.0000009% leukaemia left in his system, and he was sent home to recover. After six weeks rest he even went back to work, running the restaurants and catering businesses with his brothers and business partner.

Mooni and the nurses celebrating Christmas at his restaurant

“In December 2023, all the nurses who looked after me had their Christmas dinner at my restaurant! But then on 23rd December I got my latest bone marrow biopsy result and was given the shocking news I’d relapsed. Back I went to hospital – I couldn’t believe these same nurses had been eating in my restaurant one day and were looking after me the next.”

After two more rounds of chemotherapy, Mooni was transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to prepare for a bone marrow transplant. His siblings had all been tested and his younger sister Paz was found to be a 99% match. On 30th April 2024 he was given her donor cells.

Mooni in hospital

“The preparation for the transplant was the toughest bit. I was given radiation and chemo and looked like the Michelin man with all the steroids. Paz provided almost double the cells we needed so they gave me the lot. I was in hospital for around three weeks and in September 2024 they told me I was 100% my sister and in full remission. I went on a proper spending spree then to celebrate!

“But things haven’t been easy since then. I didn’t eat for a month because I had severe mucositis and everything tasted like metal. My joints and muscles are still incredibly weak. I have Graft vs Host Disease (GvHD) in my lungs which means I have a chronic cough and struggle when walking up hill. I go for short walks round the neighbourhood with my Mum but have to stop every 20 metres or so. I have a rash on my arm that looks like leopard spots and it’s also affected my liver. They’ve given me plenty of drugs which have worked on all these side effects, but I am not planning on going fully back to work for another year. I can do plenty on my laptop and phone from home.

“One great thing that came out of it is setting up a charity with my best friend, inspired by his daughter who had a cancer diagnosis six months after I did. Jazzy’s Gestures gives memories and toys to kids who have life-limiting illness. And together with my brother I’ve set up Football on Trent. We used to enjoy arranging football games in the community, and now we’ve created a proper FA-registered club that plays in the Sunday Leagues. I used to love chasing money but now I love giving back.”

Against all Mooni’s expectations, since his transplant another major life change has taken place. He married wife Nayema after a chance meeting.

Moon and his wife at their wedding

“I happened to park next to her at the Trafford Centre. I admired her beautiful German car and told her so, and she was kind enough to take my business card. It really did feel like love at first sight. She messaged me the next day, and somehow we ended up seeing each other three times that very week. That was in July 2025, and by October we were married. I was honest with her early on about my leukaemia. She had spent years caring for her father after his stroke and had worked for the NHS, so she understood my situation with such compassion from the very beginning. There were times when my illness made people pull away, and I had started to lose hope of finding someone. But life surprised me. I’ve got my hair back now – and, much more importantly, I’ve found my wife.

“I used to go at 1000 miles an hour and this has been a crazy shift from one life to another. I could do 200 press ups and now I can only manage five – but that’s still a current personal best! Now I just want to get as strong as I can, get back to my businesses, continue my charity and football work and enjoy my second chance at life.”

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