Family’s farewell to inspirational Harry after cancer fight

Harry Martin, 25, who once dreamed of entering the military, was last year diagnosed with Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme – an aggressive cancer which began and spread throughout his spine.

The Old Town man and his family attempted to raise £150,000 to fund private consultations, clinic visits and experimental treatments after trying the options available on the NHS.

They managed to collect more than £95,000 by the time Harry died on Sunday, May 16 at 10.20am.

His 24-year-old wife Sinéad said that although he was declining physically, Harry’s death has come as a shock – adding they only knew he was going to die in his last few hours.

“His breathing was so laboured but at the same time it still came as a shock because just the day before we didn’t see that coming and it was just through the night and then into the morning that he was struggling a lot,” she said.

“He was losing his breath a lot in the last 12 hours, so he couldn’t say a lot but when he tried to speak he just told us how much he loved us all and we said the same thing, we reassured him, that we were all there, that we all loved him and how much of a gift he was and that he wouldn’t be in pain and wouldn’t be suffering anymore and that we would always be together.”

Before his diagnosis Harry started to experience back pain and tingling feet in March 2020. As the tumour continued to spread, he became paralysed from the waist down.

“We were watching him physically decline quite rapidly and he did lose the use of his left arm completely and then in the last few days his right arm as well,” Sinéad said.

“He was able to carry such an amazing mindset through his journal, and when he was unable to write anymore that became another huge thing for him to grief.”

Sinéad and Harry

The family had approached a German clinic to find experimental treatments to help with his condition.

“We had a meeting with the German clinic and one thing they were looking at was creating a vaccine which is where the majority of the cost of the fund would have been going,” his wife said.

Sinéad said: “The conclusion from that was that unless Harry was having chemotherapy as well, a vaccine on its own wouldn’t be strong enough, and wouldn’t work quickly enough to tackle Harry’s case.”

“Then that kind of launched us into getting other opinions about a third line chemotherapy option because his last one was stopped.

“And then we just realised altogether that the likelihood was that if we considered another chemo option, which none of the oncologists would agree to anyway, the chances are that it would have made him sicker and without much effect and we had to draw the line there.”

She added: “So, we carried on with the stuff at home that we started like repurpose drugs, diet, mistletoe therapy, CBD oil, so we were still trying everything that we could at home, with the stuff that was likely to have minimum side effects that he wouldn’t feel worse on top of everything.”

Harry and Sinéad have known each other for 12 years, been together for 10 and got married in March 2021.

Harry and Sinéad got married in March

Sinéad said: “Harry said it was the best day of his life and it was a really special, magical day. It was perfect.

“It was so different to what a normal wedding would be, but I think for us it ended up being more perfect than anything else.”

His mum Eileen described Harry as a unique man.

“I don’t think there are any words that could describe Harry. He was such a unique, very special human being.

“He grew so much, and he led us as well on our journey, and he was such a strength to us.

“You wouldn’t believe that Harry was the one with the cancer, but actually he was the strength and the glue that held us together.”

She added: “He really did touch so many people and got them to think about life as a gift, get out there, just look around you at the beautiful things around you and appreciate the gift that you’ve got, and Harry really did make people think that.”

Sinéad added: “He could have chosen to be bitter and miserable and angry and instead he chose to use what had happened to him as this opportunity to grow and inspire.

“We wanted to give him the best of life that we could in the very restricted circumstances that he was in. He was limited in so many ways and yet at the same time he felt limitless.”

The family have thanked people for support Harry throughout his journey.

His father Tony said: “We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the support from friends, neighbours, people we don’t know.”

“The last 14 months we’ve been going through Covid, we were shielding, so we haven’t had that much contact with the outside world.”

Harry’s funeral will take place on June 1 at 11am at North Wiltshire Crematorium. Because of Covid-19 attendance is by invite only.

But people are invited to show their support by standing along the route from the family’s home on Goddard Avenue to the Crematorium.

They will be leaving Goddard Avenue at around 10.35am, going down Kingshill, Wootton Bassett Road down the dual carriage way onto junction 16 roundabout to the crematorium.

The money raised will be donated to Prospect Hospice and Brain Tumour Research.

For further information see www.hillierfuneralservice.co.uk/obituaries/harry-antony-martin/?