Could you help grant 24-year-old's dying wish to see grandparents one last time?

Aaron Wood with his sister EmilyAaron Wood with his sister Emily
Aaron Wood with his sister Emily
Friends of a dying 24-year-old from South Yorkshire are trying to raise the money to fly his grandparents over so he can say a final farewell.

Aaron Wood, who lives in Catcliffe, Rotherham, is terminally ill with a brain tumour and has chosen to stop treatment to make the most of his last few months with friends and family.

His grandparents Charles and Linda live in the US where he grew up, but he has not seen them in a decade and is too ill to fly out for one last reunion.

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Aaron Wood with sister Emily and their grandparentsAaron Wood with sister Emily and their grandparents
Aaron Wood with sister Emily and their grandparents

Determined to bring them together, his friends are trying to raise £5,000 to fly them over from Pennsylvania and fulfil one of Aaron's dying wishes.

Aaron said: "I'm very close to my grandparents and seeing them again would mean more than anything.

"This appeal has restored my faith in humanity. You don't realise how many people care until something like this happens."

The keen guitarist and squash player was diagnosed with a brain tumour aged 21 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. But the tumour returned this year and is no longer responding to treatment.

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Aaron Wood with sister Emily and their grandparentsAaron Wood with sister Emily and their grandparents
Aaron Wood with sister Emily and their grandparents

Determined to live his remaining days to the full, he bravely chose to end the treatment, which had been causing terrible side effects including paralysis. Medics have told him he has weeks and months to live, rather than months and years.

He was two years through his philosophy degree at the University of Essex when first diagnosed with cancer, and he courageously turned down the offer of an honorary third to return and complete his studies, achieving a 2:1.

Despite the debilitating side-effects of his treatment, he then joined Currys' Knowhow technical support team in Sheffield for three months, until his condition forced him to stop working.

He selflessly counselled other terminally ill cancer patients while battling the disease himself and has decided to donate his body to medical science in the hope of saving lives once he is gone.

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Lauren Stevenson, sister of Aaron's best friend Luke Fowler, started the fundraising appeal and said she couldn't think of anyone more deserving.

"Aaron's an incredible person. Despite illness, he has always been the life and soul of the party and, although he is frank about his illness, he continues to remain positive and supportive of his family and friends who are, understandably, struggling to come to terms with these awful circumstances," she said.

The fundraising appeal has already passed the £2,000 mark, despite only being launched on November 24, with Aaron's old employers at Knowhow generously donating £1,000.

The total was further boosted by a fundraising night at the Thirsty Flame pub in Brinsworth, including a raffle for which scores of local firms donated prizes.

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Luke organised the evening in lieu of his 27th birthday celebrations and asked friends and family for donations instead of presents.

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