@eccentrally Thank you so much for your kind words and resteem, it's really appreciated. I'm very sorry to hear of your loss and to be honest your father seems to have had the exact same mindset as my friend.
It's so difficult when someone simply won't listen and instead heads in exactly the opposite direction. From the experience with my friend I certainly know that to put all your eggs in one basket and trust the doctors is the wrong course of action. Equally it's a very difficult spell to break as in times of great upset and worry we tend to gravitate to "the experts". I guess in a way it's much like we did as children, to run to a close family member who would make everything better.
Again thanks for your kind words and I hope at some point over the years this post will at least bring hope to someone.