Terminally ill Hartlepool man to get Glasto wish
Last updated 21st Jun 2022
A terminally ill Hartlepool man is going to get his last wish - to go to Glastonbury Festival this weekend.
58 year old Nigel Stonehouse was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, which has now spread to his lungs.
His friends set up an online fundraiser to raise money for a helicopter to take him to Glasto for one last time.
More than ÂŁ17,000 has been donated - It's hoped Nigel will be able to fly from North Tees hospital either on Friday or Saturday
Posting on the fundraising page here's what his friends have said:
"The last 48 hours have been an absolute whirlwind, we are all completely overwhelmed by the kindness we have been shown, in true Glastonbury spirit! Something that felt near impossible only days ago now feels within reach!
So we have surpassed our fundraising goal and wanted to update about where we are currently.
The palliative care team at North Tees hospital have been fantastic and extremely supportive to this cause. They continue to liaise with the festival medical team. They are hopeful that Nige may be able to travel on Friday afternoon, but it may be Saturday morning, and then stay until Sunday evening. This is subject to Nigel’s medical condition.
We are currently liaising and speaking with several companies to organise an appropriate helicopter (preferably air ambulance) to safely get Nige to Glastonbury.
We have had clearance to land a helicopter nearby the festival, and are currently working on where Nige will be collected from.
We have also managed to secure an off site home for Nige to stay in, thank you to the immense kindness of a local man with a huge heart.
With the weather now expected to rain we are really hoping that somebody may be able to reach out or help with gaining better accessibility for Nige (possibly hospitality) to allow cut throughs in the wheelchair and to avoid potentially muddy areas. If this is something you could help with then please do get in contact.
Nige has been utterly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for him, it has given him such a boost and he cannot wait to be on site and hopefully thank some of you personally. He hopes to shake the hand of the absolute legend Fatboy Slim himself for shining a light on this campaign. It means the world.
He also asked us to publicly thank the wonderful team or doctors and nurses caring for him at North Tees Hospital, they work so incredibly hard and are taking very good care of him.
If Nige for any reason is unable to make the journey, or we have any funds left over, they will be donated directly to the Glastonbury charities in Nigel's name; Water aid, Oxfam and Greenpeace."
Find out more about the online fundraiser _**here**_