Having been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was very young, Channan Petrides, now 22, was able to tick off two items on her bucket list earlier this week when she met chart-topping star Ed Sheeran.
Petrides, from Essex, admitted last month to removing herself from the NHS organ transplant list, instead choosing to make the most of the time she had left by creating a bucket list of things she wanted to achieve and do.
Speaking about her decision she said:
“I could spend my last few months stuck inside waiting for a call that never arrives. I wouldn’t be able to go out, see my friends and make the most of my time because of the risk of infection. I’d far rather the organs went to somebody who’d be able to go on and live a full, happy life.”
At the same time she set up a GoFundMe page, encouraging people to donate and help towards research for a cure. The page has to date received more than £13,000 in donations.
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At the top of her bucket list was seeing Ed Sheeran perform live, while meeting him was listed a few places below. Having been admitted to hospital with pneumonia last month, Petrides was worried she wouldn’t be able to attend the show, but fortunately improved in time to do so.
She and her twin sister Courtny met Sheeran backstage at Wembley and shared the moment via photos on social media. She later said of her meeting with her idol:
“He was so lovely and genuine, he had a great sense of humour and was really easy to get on with. He signed my programme and we took some selfies together. He smelled amazing.”
Sheeran’s latest act of kindness (and display of awesomeness) comes on the back of him dropping in on a cancer patient unannounced in New Zealand and spending time with her back in April.
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