An Aberdeenshire man rallied around a group of friends to raise thousands of pounds for cancer research after a groomsman and bridesmaid from his wedding were diagnosed with terminal tumours.
Within months of Colin and Sarah Shanks’ September 2012 wedding both Shaun Halley and Leighanne Easton had been told by doctors they had cancer.
Sadly Leighanne, a hairdresser from Premnay, near Insch, who stunned the north-east with her bucket list and positive attitude, passed away earlier this year at the age of 26.
Mr Shanks, 35, from Huntly, said: “With Shaun being a budding musician – frontman of Glasgow-based band Joy Wheel – prior to being diagnosed, a group of us formed a committee and decided to host a gig at the Gordon Arms in Huntly in his honour.
“It was named after one of his former school bands and we set a target of £5,000.”
When the Halleybaloo concert eventually raised more than £12,500, Mr Halley, 31, decided the proceeds should be split between Macmillan Cancer Support and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s Neurosurgical Research Fund.
Last night the group of friends presented more than £6,000 to NHS Grampian.
Neurosurgery consultant Mr Mahmoud Kamel praised their efforts saying: “Their dedication, enthusiasm and imagination is outstanding and we are extremely grateful for their very generous donation.
“Our Neurosurgical Research Fund helps purchase the most up-to-date technology for treating brain tumours and we will invest this kind gift into funding state of the art equipment to allow real-time brain imaging during surgery.”
He added that patients in Grampian, the Highlands Shetland and Orkney would all benefit.
Other fundraising activities included a collection at the Aberdeenshire Shield final between Inverurie Locos and Turriff United, a car boot sale stall and a bag pack at Tesco in Huntly
They were also inundated with messages from celebrity well wishers – former wrestling superstar X PAC recorded a message, as did former Celtic FC striker Tony Watt.
Local PDC darts star John Henderson was also there on the night of the gig to present Shaun with a signed shirt.
Mr Shanks added: “The highlight of the night was when Shaun joined Joy Wheel for the last three songs.
“Not a dry eye was left in the house as he performed for the first time since being diagnosed.”
Leighanne stunned the north-east with her positive attitude as her bucket list hit the headlines last year.
Before she passed away in January, Leighanne was able to tick of seeing a Scotland rugby match and a behind-the-scenes tour of Murrayfield Stadium.