Sully and Kat

On the 28th May 2022, Sully and Kat were married at a beautiful 3-day ceremony at Ridge Farm in Dorking, Surrey, surrounded by 100 of their closest friends and family. For the happy couple and everyone who was in attendance, it was a magical weekend that will never be forgotten.

Less than three weeks later Sully began to experience problems with his vision, unable to focus on text messages and images on screens. These symptoms got progressively worse causing his vision to deteriorate over the next few weeks, during which he had various tests and scans to find out what was causing this issue.

Now, only two months after getting his first symptoms, and less than three months since his dream wedding, Sully has been diagnosed with an incurable stage 4 Glioma brain tumour which is pressing on his optic nerve and making it inoperable. He was given the hearbreaking news that, even with treatment, his life expectancy would drop to 18 months - 5 years. Despite this horrific news, Sully faced this head on and intended to live his life to full with the limited time he had left.

Sadly, due to the aggressive nature of the tumour, he hasn't been able to enjoy that time, as only three weeks later his condition has deteriorated so much that he has lost his ability to communicate or know what is happening to him while he‘a been awaiting treatment. The tumour is causing mini-seizures in his brain every 10 minutes which means that the planned course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy has now been deemed too risky given his current condition. Doctors have now advised that sadly there is nothing more they can do for him and he has only a couple of weeks to live. This news has devastated all of his family and friends, but most of all his new bride, Kat.

Sully is a warm, friendly, charismatic pub landlord from Camberley, Surrey. He is the owner of The Bear, a hugely successful independent pub in the heart of Camberley Town Centre where he has been in charge for ten years, supported by a loyal and committed team of staff. He is an extremely popular and well thought of character of significant standing in the local community, and he has built the pub up to be one of the most popular and welcoming in the area, with amazing food, high-quality beer and brilliant weekly live music.

He has been a huge sports fan all his life and has been a keen rugby player for 25 years, playing for his beloved Twickenham RFC from the age of 16 until 2 years ago. He has also played Cricket on a regular basis since his early teens. 

He chairs 'Pubwatch' - the local community of Camberley Publicans and he always gets involved in charity events, supports good causes and goes out of his way to support those in need - whether it’s his friends, family, or colleagues. Nothing is ever too much trouble and he always goes above and beyond to make sure that those he knows and love are supported through any crisis they may be experiencing. Sully is always the life and soul of any social gathering with his quick-witted sense of humour and a laugh that can fill any room.

He is one of the kindest and most loyal friends anyone could ever ask for and is one of the brightest and most intelligent people we know. The most amazing pub quizmaster who has the ability to retain and recall an infinite amount of facts and information at the drop of a hat who has been known to win pub quizes single-handedly against seasoned professional quiz teams. It is the cruelest irony that it is his beautiful brain that has been attacked by this unforgiving illness.

This GoFundMe page was initially going to raise funds for Sully and Kat to enjoy their last few years together, however, with the recent rapid decline in his health, the fund will be used to support Kat now, and sadly, once Sully has passed away. Due to the fact they do not have any life insurance, the fund will assist Kat with keeping their beautiful home they bought together as their forever home and the general cost of living without her partner. Sully's unforgiving illness has robbed them both of a lifetime of love and adventures together that they were so looking forward to as newlyweds less than three months ago. We hope that this fund will help Kat financially in the weeks, months and years ahead as she comes to terms with the loss of her beloved husband who has brought so much love, laughter, and joy to everyone who knows him.

I know that given the speed and severity of this illness, and the shock this will be to so many people who know and love Sully, that the temptation will be to message him directly. However, due to his condition he is unable to read any texts or messages on his phone or through social media, so we kindly ask that all messages of support are directed through the GoFundMe page so Kat can read them to him.

Thanks in advance for any help and support you can give to the most wonderful friends who are suffering the most cruel and devastating of circumstances.

Jim