The lads from the local bike club are holding a charity night in memory of my brother Ste on 27 November 2009 to raise money for the MS Society.
Ste passed away at 9:30 on May 28 2009 and if you read further down you can see why the lads thought this night was warranted.
The charity evening will take place at St Patrick's community centre on Cranworth Street, Thornaby-on-Tees.
The night will consist of a band, bingo and a raffle, amongst other things, and the tickets are £3 each - please drop me an email if you want some (you can also pay on the door).
As Ste rarely wore anything other than combats, camouflage and leather
please feel free to turn up in any combination of them but it's not
compulsory :)
If you cannot attend but still want to make a donation please use this page to do so, and thank you.
Also, if you would like to donate any prizes for the raffle, again please let me know.
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On May 24 my 39 year old brother Ste was taken into the Emergency
Assessment unit at the local hospital with a suspected chest infection,
however, 3 years earlier he had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis
and it had not been kind to him and was very aggressive so by this
point he was virtually bed bound. So, being too weak to fight the
infection it progressed to full blown pneumonia and he was admitted
into hospital and then a day later into intensive care.
He was
making good progress and on the Tuesday afternoon the nurses were actually
looking to discharge him back to the ward but at 5pm he started to
deteriorate and by the time I arrived back at 6pm things were not
looking good at all. Ste was very poorly and unresponsive.
On
Wednesday morning were we told that we was not responding to treatment
and that the ventilator was now keeping him alive rather than just
helping him so we should make arrangements for any family and friends
to come in as soon as possible.
Now, Ste knew that this was
coming, although not so soon, so he had made his preparations - he
was a registered organ donor and had also specified that the relevant tissues be
donated to the MS Society for research.
This meant that
we had to set a time to withdraw treatment and give the surgical team the best chance to make use of the
organs and tissues.
We agreed that treatment would be withdrawn at 9pm on the Thursday night (28 May).
On
Thursday morning I arrived to find Ste a lot more alert, but obviously
still very ill, so I sat with him and went through what would
happen at 9pm and reassured him that everything he wanted had been set
up and that the surgical teams were on standby. He again confirmed that
this is what he wanted to happen.
Most of the family and friends were able to come and say their goodbyes throughout the afternoon and evening.
Now
Ste was a huuuuge Metallica fan, had seen them live a few times, and
always had it playing whenever I visited him. All during the hospital
stay me, and the nurses, kept the CD player topped up with album after
album (luckily he was in an area by himself so we were allowed fairly
decent volume :)
Ste
had already told us that Nothing Else Matters (S&M Live version)
should be played at his funeral, although as I said he didn't expect
that to be anytime soon.
He also asked for this to be playing as we turned off the machines etc.
At
9pm I set the CD to repeat and my mum, her sisters and I gathered round
the bed as the ventilator was turned off. Ste passed away within half
an hour, quickly and with no pain, hand in hand with me and with
Nothing Else Matters playing in the background. The words were so
fitting, possible too fitting
All of the nurses,
orderlies, consultants and donor co-ordinators where hugely impressed
with his bravery as usually these things are pre signed and not
something that is further discussed with the actual donor on the day.
And there are now two ladies enjoying their life thanks to Ste's generosity in leaving his organs.
I have to give maximum respect
to Ste for the way he conducted himself throughout - I thought I knew
him well but he surpassed all of my expectations and I only hope I can
be half as brave when my time comes.
Love you bro and glad you've gone on to a better place - Respect mate
As you can see from the photo's I had the coffin custom painted and a number of the lads attended the funeral on their bikes to give Ste a proper send off .
I hope this conveys why we feel this night is deserved so please come along or give what you can and thanks again
Andy
PS The £400 already donated was from the funeral collection.
Raised so far: £1,420.00
Donate now
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Donated on behalf of Auntie Doris Donation by Andy Dargue on 14/01/10 |
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Just a little something to show my support. Best wishes. Donation by Matthew East on 06/01/10 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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On behalf of the members who bought Christmas cards on www.seriesoneturbo.co.uk Donation by Lee Christmas card collective on 06/01/10 |
£35.00 + £9.87 Gift Aid |
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Best Wishes. Hope the charity night is a success for you all. Shawn Donation by Shawn Rhodes on 22/11/09 |
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A little something to help out where possible. God bless you and yours at this time. Donation by Paul S on 22/11/09 |
£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid |
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hope your night is a roaring success Donation by denzil on 14/11/09 |
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Donation by Lee Morris on 13/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Hi Andy just read about this on Turbosport, have a great night :) Donation by Clint Gaskin on 12/11/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Hope the evening goes well. Sorry I cannot be there. Donation by Kieron @ Turbosport on 12/11/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Steve 'Pitstop' Dalton from Turbosport on 12/11/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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I read about this on Turbosport and was truly touched, is too far North for me to make it but good luck with the Charity night. Donation by Tai Daly on 10/11/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Matthew "Mk2Matt" Beakhust on 05/11/09 |
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Have a great night and I hope youraise lots for a very worthy cause. Donation by Russ (Stringpants) on 05/11/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Donation by stephen mclean on 05/11/09 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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turbo_3dr_tommy from passionford Donation by Craig Thompson on 04/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Best wishes and hope the Charity night goes well Donation by Matt Britton on 04/11/09 |
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Donation by Neil Stockton on 03/11/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Best Wishes mate! Donation by Gavin Wightman on 03/11/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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With love. Worthwhile cause in memory of a special person xx Donation by Caroline Moss on 03/11/09 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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So close, no matter how far. Couldn't be much more from the heart. Forever trusting who we are, and nothing else matters... Donation by Big Dave on 03/11/09 |
£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Anonymous on 03/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Dave Roberts on 03/11/09 |
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Donation by Anonymous on 03/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Best wishes from Martin @ www.rallyesportescorts.co.uk Donation by Martin on 03/11/09 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
| * Total raised online: | £320.00 |
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| Offline donations: | £1,100.00 |
| Mobile donations: | £0.00 |
| Total Raised: | £1,420.00 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £87.44 |
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