Tom Parker’s memoir reveals Ed Sheeran helped pay The Wanted star’s medical bills
The late Tom Parker has revealed in his upcoming memoir that Ed Sheeran helped pay for his private medical treatment during his brain cancer battle.
The Wanted star, who died at the age of 33 on March 30, said the Perfect hitmaker, 31, reached out to him not long after his stage 4 glioblastoma diagnosis in October 2020 to ask if he could help.
In his new memoir Hope, Tom called Ed a ‘special man’ as he revealed his friend helped to pay for his medical bills, which he said ‘meant the world’ to him and his wife Kelsey.
Support: The late Tom Parker (pictured in December) has revealed in his upcoming memoir that Ed Sheeran helped pay for his private medical treatment during his brain cancer battle
An extract from the book, obtained by The Sun, read: ‘I’ve never publicly said this before (and he’ll probably be mad that I’m doing it now) but Ed is a very special man — he even helped out with my medical bills when I was seeking other treatment options and having private immunotherapy.
‘He didn’t need to do any of that, but my wife Kelsey and I are so grateful to him for his support, it meant the world.’
Tom had been friends with Ed since he joined The Wanted on the band’s tour bus more than 10 years ago and said they had a ‘great relationship’ ever since.
Pals: The Wanted star, who died at the age of 33 on March 30, said Ed, 31, reached out to him not long after his stage 4 glioblastoma diagnosis in October 2020 to ask if he could help
The singer was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma and went public with his diagnosis in October 2020.
Reflecting on his diagnosis, Tom said his wife Kelsey and his brother Lewis persuaded him not to find out a prognosis after his terminal diagnosis, saying he needed to live with ‘hope’.
He added: ‘I was absolutely petrified — I couldn’t stop thinking about death.’
Just days before his death, Tom revealed the news that he had written a tell-all memoir, which is available for pre-order and will be released in July.
At the time, he said that the book, called Hope, isn’t going to be about ‘dying’ but about ‘living’ and ‘finding hope’ no matter what situation you are in.
Kind: In his new memoir Hope, Tom called Ed (both pictured in 2013) a ‘special man’ as he revealed his friend helped to pay for his medical bills, which he said ‘meant the world’ to him
Tom died aged 33 on March 30 following a battle with brain cancer, when he was given just 12 months to live by doctors.
It comes after his widow Kelsey spoke of the heartbreaking moment she told her daughter Aurelia, two, that the ‘angels were coming to take daddy’ on the day Tom died.
Earlier this month, Kelsey explained that when Tom was in hospital her two children would ask ‘when is daddy coming home’ and would think he was at an appointment or an album signing.
During an appearance on Loose Women, she revealed Tom ‘sends her signs’ every day since his death – for example setting car alarms off at 4am – and that she regularly talks to him.
Sad: It comes after his widow Kelsey spoke of the moment she told her daughter Aurelia, two, that the ‘angels were coming to take daddy’ when Tom died on March 30
On the show Kelsey noted that her 19-month old son Bodhi was too young to understand what was going on, Kelsey admitted that the process was more of a ‘journey’ with her daughter Aurelia, two.
She explained: ‘When Tom went into hospice, she was confused and kept asking, ‘is daddy coming home?’
‘I did say he wouldn’t be coming home,’ Kelsey added.
Speaking of the day he passed, she continued: ‘When I was leaving to go to hospice, I told her, ‘I’ve got make sure the angels collect daddy. I need to make sure daddy goes to the angels’.’
Kelsey explained: ‘The next day, I had to tell her that dad’s dead, be honest that he’s not coming back.’
Grief: During an appearance on Loose Women, she revealed Tom ‘sends her signs’ every day since his death – for example setting car alarms off at 4am – and that she regularly talks to him
‘She’s still trying to digest it, she each day will ask if he’s at an appointment, or album signings, he was gone away a lot.’
Adding that the youngster was still ‘trying to digest’ the tragic news, Kelsey admitted she is just trying to stay strong and ‘get through each day’.
She added: ‘Even today, she’s worried about where I am. When she’s with my mum and on the toilet, she asks, ‘where’s my mum?”
Kelsey bravely went on to reveal she was ‘feeling strong’ and ‘getting through each day’ because she had her children to think about.
‘I’m strong as possible in a difficult situation and time,’ she said. ‘I get my strength from within, I have to think, what would he want me to do?’
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk