Dying Glastonbury Festival fan granted dying wish to be flown in by helicopter

Nigel Stonehouse has been visiting Glastonbury since 1986, but after finding out he had weeks to live he was told he couldn’t go one last time – until the Get Nige To Glasto campaign got underway

A man with weeks to live has his dying wish fulfilled and is flown to Glastonbury Festival by helicopter thanks to his heartbroken friends.

Music mad Nigel Stonehouse, 58, of Hartlepool, County Durham, was diagnosed with cancer last month.

But the disease quickly spread to his lungs, and doctors told the former bricklayer he likely wouldn’t make it to the end of the summer. Somerset Live Report.

He was keen to go to the legendary festival again, but faced devastation after being told he was too ill to travel.

Nigel has been a regular at Glasto for 35 years, but thanks to his friends he will fly to the event by helicopter with a medical team at his side.

It didn’t come cheap, but his GoFundMe page went viral, raising almost £19,000 thanks to the efforts of his friends on social media.

Now Nigel has said he will be “forever grateful” as it has been confirmed it is safe for him to visit the site and Glastonbury City residents have offered him their home so he can stay with friends.

Hospital staff organize the logistics to ensure he can safely attend the festival despite his terminal kidney cancer.

Nigel is being cared for in a ventilator ward at North Tees University Hospital where palliative care nurses Emma Graydon and Robyn Willis are arranging his trip to Worthy Farm in Somerset.

“It has to be said, I wouldn’t be going anywhere if it wasn’t for these nurses,” he said.

“They were absolutely amazing. I’ve had the privilege of being a fly on the wall and seeing the difficulties they go through like a night shift. They are wonderful people – they really are.”

Mr Stonehouse has been visiting Glastonbury since 1986 and this year’s festival will be his 19th overall. “They’ve all been good, all along… they’ve all been special and different, and I’ve been privileged to see that change,” added Mr. Stonehouse.

“It’s always important to go to Glastonbury – we’re family.” Asked which act he’s most looking forward to this year, Mr Stonehouse said: “Diana Ross! She is a legend.”

That GoFundMe for Mr Stonehouse entitled ‘Get Nige To Glasto’ reached its original goal of £12,000 just over 24 hours after it was shared on Twitter by DJ Fatboy Slim.

The fundraising page read: “In mid-May Nige was diagnosed with kidney cancer which unfortunately had already spread to his lungs.

“In the last week Nige has taken a sudden turn and has been told that his cancer is not only incurable but is also fast progressing and aggressive. He was told he probably has a few weeks left.

“Nige had planned to be at Glastonbury with all of us next week and he has made it his dying wish for the last time to make it there, if only for a few hours.

“He is currently an in-patient at North Tees Hospital and their wonderful palliative care team have assured him that they will do everything in their power to make sure that they can.

“Unfortunately there is no more space in the accessible areas (Nige has a general sale ticket) but they will facilitate entry via the accessible car park.

“Now for the hard part! Taking Nige all the way there…..

“This is obviously a HUGE undertaking and will be costly. The palliative care team suggested hiring a helicopter to take him there and back – the first offer we’ve received is for £12,000.

“We are asking anyone who is able to make a donation, however small, to try and help us make this a reality.

“We realize this will be logistically huge and that we have very little time, but we want to move heaven and earth to get him there. It would mean the world to Nige and everyone who loves him.”

To visit the fundraising page, click here.