Steve Damon, who survived childhood Hodgkin lymphoma, discovered years later that contaminated blood given during his treatment left him with hepatitis C and cirrhosis. He found solace in gardening, turning his small front plot into an award-winning space that won Best Front Garden in the East Midlands In Bloom 2025. Steve received £90,000 from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority and has used some of it to help others while dedicating his award to victims still waiting for justice.
Garden Saved Him: Blood-Scandal Survivor Turns Trauma Into Award-Winning Front Garden
Steve Damon thought nothing else could go wrong in his life after his cancer diagnosis as a child [Karen Damon]
Steve Damon, a 62-year-old from Market Harborough, says the front garden he created has pulled him back from a 'dark hole' after discovering years ago that contaminated blood he received as a child left him with hepatitis C and later cirrhosis.
Steve (pictured alongside his sister) endured months of chemotherapy and three operations as a child [Steve Damon]
From Cancer Treatment To A Hidden Infection
Diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at age 10, Steve endured five years of treatment through the 1970s and was declared cancer-free in 1980. Decades later, following growing fatigue and medical tests, he learned — unexpectedly by letter — that infected blood products given during his childhood care had left him with hepatitis C. He later developed cirrhosis.
Steve was 10 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, or Hodgkin's Disease, as it was known at the time [Steve Damon]
Turning To Gardening For Healing
Rather than let anger consume him, Steve redirected his energy into transforming the small front garden at his Rutland Walk home. What began as therapy — hours spent digging, planting and teaching himself metalwork for handmade sculptures — grew into a distinctive space filled with jasmine, large tree ferns, yuccas, alliums and globe artichokes.
Steve said he planned to keep adding to his award-winning front garden [Katie Jaffar]
'The garden I've designed here has kept me out of a dark hole,' Steve says. 'It has calmed me so much and the comments I receive are fantastic.'
His garden won Best Front Garden in the East Midlands In Bloom competition in 2025. Visitors, including people going through cancer treatment, have told him the space lifts their spirits — something Steve now aims to pass on to others.
Steve is determined to help others following his experience [Katie Jaffar]
A Personal Loss, A Public Scandal
Steve believes his infection may have occurred during one of several childhood operations that required transfusions, though the precise source cannot now be confirmed. He is one of thousands infected through contaminated blood transfusions and blood products supplied to patients in the UK between 1970 and 1991.
Steve dedicated his gardening award last year to the victims of the blood scandal [Katie Jaffar]
The UK Infected Blood Inquiry estimates roughly 27,000 people were infected; other figures put the total nearer 30,000, in part because hepatitis C can remain symptomless for decades. Many victims still await compensation; the inquiry has highlighted that about one victim dies every four days while waiting for payments.
Steve makes sculptures, which add to the "unique" nature of his garden [Steve Damon]
Compensation, Charity And Legacy
Steve received a £90,000 payment from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. He says he hesitated to accept the award because so many others have yet to be paid or have died, but ultimately took it to gain closure and to do good with some of the funds.
He used part of the money to help a struggling single mother — school support worker Melissa Kingston — create a safe, welcoming garden for her children. 'A lot of time and love was put into' the result, she said.
Steve dedicated his gold award to victims of the blood scandal: 'It's for those who are still suffering and those who have sadly passed away with no justice and no compensation money.' He plans to keep tending his garden and helping others, hoping to be remembered for the good he put into the world.
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