Tornagrain father-of-four’s urgent brain tumour surgery appeal smashes £30k target in just a day after flood of Highland donations to GoFundMe page set up by family friends
An urgent appeal to raise £30,000 for a dad-of-four’s life-saving brain surgery has hit its target in double-quick time.
Kind-hearted donors have helped the GoFundMe appeal for Ben Horsfield’s surgery sail past its £30k target in just a day.
The fundraiser was set up by family friends Christine Cochrane and Rosie Thompson after Ben, who hails from Tornagrain, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.
The self-employed Aga engineer received the “devastating” tumour diagnosis after experiencing a seizure earlier this month.
And the £30,000 is intended to not only help cover the cost of his potentially life-saving surgery at a specialist neurosurgeon hospital in London, but also to cover later treatment and support him and his family while he is unable to continue to work.
Launching the appeal, Christine and Rosie said: “Ben is a family man through-and-through. He has four wonderful young boys, Harvey, Harry, Oliver and Freddie, a loving wife Gemma.
“He has always put his family first, and loves nothing more than spending time adventuring with his boys. He also co-founded the kids football team at Croy Primary School so they’d have somewhere to play with their friends. He coaches the team most weekends at Culloden or can be found volunteering at the SFA festivals on the Bught Park playing field.”
And the plight of Ben and his family, and the heartfelt appeal, has struck a chord with friends, family and the wider Highland community - after the GoFundMe page reached its target and went on to hit £30,875 at the time of writing on Saturday morning.
Almost 500 people and businesses chipped in, with individual donations ranging from £5 up to £5000 as the community rushed to offer whatever they could to help support the surgery.
For the latest on the fundraiser, visit the GoFundMe page.
