PETE'S STORY

Peter and his twin sister, Victoria, were born as premature babies at just 28 weeks. Weighing little more than a bag of sugar, Pete’s chances of survival were low. But after spending his first Christmas in hospital, he was welcomed home to join Vikki and their parents, Marie and Barry.

He had a happy childhood, full of love and opportunity. As a little boy, Pete was raised on his Dad’s favourite records: he loved to sing and was learning guitar by the time he was eight. Music was a large part of his life growing up, he joined the school choir and various bands within the Solihull Music Service.

Although Pete and his twin, Vikki, were very different people, they had a deep-rooted connection. They could argue, of course, but they were extremely protective of each other. Even when their lives took very different paths, they kept an unbreakable bond.

By the age of sixteen, Pete had developed a keen, intense passion for music, pursuing it at Stratford College. Here, Pete found a group of creatives and people of like mind. He started working backstage at the N.E.C. with the rigging team, as well as volunteering with the backstage team, nicknamed the ‘Cookie Crew’, at the Solihull Theatre. 

Anyone who knew him will tell you that Pete loved to talk! He could have trouble concentrating but have an intense focus on things that interested him. It’s also fair to say that Pete felt misunderstood for a lot of his life. At eighteen, an ADHD diagnosis provided him with an explanation for the struggle he lived with. 

Pete was first diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma at 24 years old, when doctors discovered the lump in his foot was a cancerous tumour the size of an orange. Within weeks he was on the operating table having his left leg amputated, a few inches below the knee, to save his life. It was life-changing, but he was steadfast in his abstinence-based recovery.

At that time, he turned back to his core passion to help him process and express his emotions around this, writing and recording ‘Hollow’ from his bedroom. The video went viral, reaching nearly 95,000 views on Music Crowns and inspiring people all around the world.

Once recovered from surgery, Pete had to relearn to walk using a prosthesis and adjust to life as an amputee and all that that entails. Pete was forever getting told off by his prosthetist for doing too much too soon, often wearing through the rubber sleeves in a matter of weeks. He was anxious to get his independence back, he had living to do.

Pete continued to write and perform, releasing his own E.P. to raise money for cancer and addiction charities, playing for young people on the cancer ward, and becoming a fully-fledged self-employed musician on the Birmingham Music Scene. 

A few weeks before Pete’s amputation, his twin, Vikki, and her husband, Phil, went on a cruise to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. A chance meeting in the onboard bar led them to having drinks with two girls from N. Ireland, one of whom should not have been on board. Before the night ended, Vikki was convinced she’d found Pete’s perfect partner, who’s weirdness complimented his!

Only a fortnight after his amputation, and after a lot of phone calls, Hollie flew over from Belfast for their first date. Walking through the airport, she walked into Arrivals to see Pete waiting, in his wheelchair, holding a dead bunch of flowers (which happened to be Vikki’s dried wedding bouquet), and a big smile on his face. She hugged him and he licked her face: and they never doubted that they were meant to be.

Despite the Irish Sea, they were quickly inseparable, and within a matter of months Hollie moved across to Solihull to live with him. Soon Pete was proposing on a trip with her parents to see Dippy the Dinosaur, and they started planning the rest of their lives. 

Some called it divine intervention, others, a series of unlikely coincidences that led to their worlds colliding. Whatever it was, it was meant.

Then came the phone call. The scan which he had had a few days before their wedding had shown that the cancer had again returned, and the prognosis was very poor. There were tumours throughout both lungs, in the lung lining and signs of cancer throughout his abdomen including the lymph nodes under collarbone, armpit, around the diaphragm, lungs and heart. At just 26 years old Pete was facing a terminal diagnosis… 

Chemotherapy and further treatments left Pete hospitalised for much of the first few months, but were not successful in even slowing down the rare and aggressive cancer that was spreading through his abdomen. 

Even then, he was always the joy of the wards: playing music for patients and staff, getting the older patients their papers, a listening ear to the young people adjusting to cancer, and always a cheeky smile for everyone!

Pete and his family made the decision, with the full support of his Oncology team, to cease treatment to allow him to make the best of the life he had left. He would not spend what time he had left in a hospital bed. For Pete there was never going to be the option of sitting back and just letting cancer happen. 

The couple had set up his ‘Not Dead Yet Bucket List’, and thanks to the generosity of family, friends and strangers, got to work on living, experiencing and making memories that would need to last a lifetime. Pete made the decision to document his journey publicly, hoping to raise awareness and money for sarcoma and youth cancers, which are poorly understood and have a devastating impact. 

Despite his deterioration in the following months, Pete, Hollie, his family and friends worked through his Bucket List as best they could, around further hospital stays, surgeries and treatment. Pete and Hollie travelled to Northern Ireland, Iceland, Bali, Australia and New Zealand, as well as ticking off goals near home. 

He saw the sunrise on the summer solstice from inside Stonehenge, flew birds of prey, rode horses through the rainforest, lay under the Northern Lights, fed rhinos and kangaroos, and got a matching tattoo with his wife, to name but a few. 

Pete would have told you that none of these compared to meeting his new little niece, Charlotte, born to his twin, Vikki, and husband, Phil, that summer. He had worried he may not live to meet her, and the thought of not seeing her grow up broke his heart.

The new year brought little relief. The cancer continued to spread, with concerns that the tumour protruding out of the side of his chest would rupture the skin, it’s growth even pushing his heart to the other side of his chest. The side effects of some targeted radiotherapy left him very weak and in further pain. 

The cancer was really taking over now, and his loved ones could see more and more each day that he was moving from being terminally ill, to actively dying… 

But no matter how sick Pete was, he did not want to spend more time in hospital. He wanted to pass away at home in his own bed, comfortably. He spent his final night curled up on his sister’s sofa with his wife, Vikki and baby Charlotte. That night was difficult and emotional, as he became more ill and confused. His friends later told Hollie that he had called many of them from the bath, making sure they promised to look out for her and his family. 

The following morning, he allowed them to call for an ambulance as his breathing had deteriorated so much, requiring intervention. In Resus, the medical staff were able to improve his breathing and manage his pain a little better, allowing him to get some sleep for the first time in many days. Before falling asleep, Pete kissed his wife, told her he loved her, that he’d always be with her, and licked her face… just as when they first met.

Pete fell unconscious, as his family and close friends arrived to be with him and with each other. He did awake suddenly at one point, to tell them to be quiet and turn off the light! He took the opportunity to hug and kiss his family, tell each of them he loved them, and ask his Dad if he was proud of him. He gave his wife a final kiss, said ‘I love you’, and fell back asleep, while embraced by his wife, twin Vikki, mother and father. He knew he was safe, and he knew he was loved.

Pete passed away on 7th February 2020 after only 12 hours in hospital. He was 27 years old.