Benefit Concert in Essex...Thanks Uncle Vince & Shana!

Below is an article written about a fundraising concert in Essex headed up by Kayse's Aunt Shana and Uncle Vince........

THE THREAT of a terminal illness on a young American man has been lifted with help from a caring Christian family and musical friends in the United Kingdom.

Joseph McCanne suffered from cystic fibrosis, a progressive and incurable disease that attacks the lungs. The only known remedy is major surgery and a lung transplant.

Joseph is a pastor in USA and when diagnosed, his US family, friends and British based family, mounted a vigorous campaign to achieve the daunting but life saving transplant, as well as a financial mountain to save Joseph's life

With medical insurance only covering 80 per cent of the $500,000 cost of the operation and treatment, the family were left with finding the financial mountain of $100,000, assuming a suitable donor could be found.

The race for life started when the 31-year-old’s lung capacity slowly reduced to the dangerous level of just 14 per cent in the latter part of this year.

Finding a transplant donor filled the medics time and reaching the financial goal kept the family busy, but they had reached $70,000 by September in time for the great news that a donor had been found.

Joseph underwent transplant surgery immediately and received his new lungs, astounding his doctors with his progress within a mere six weeks.

However, there was still the matter of a further $30,000 to find and Joseph’s English family made the final push by arranging a musical concert at their church in Essex.

Vince and Shana Avery, regular members of the Peniel Church in Brentwood, came up with the idea of a fund raising concert by Brentwood Brass, a band of whom Vince and other members of the church belong to.

The 26 strong band willingly agreed, with Vince and Shana making all the arrangements for not only the concert, but also an auction to help fill the coffers.

With items such as holidays, theatre tickets, baby sitters and even a limited edition original photograph of Status Quo icon, Rick Parfitt; the event took place before a capacity audience in November.

The generous patrons not only enjoyed an evening of big band music, but also dug deep and raised a staggering $5,500 in just one night.

Brentwood Brass was formed a decade ago from tutors and friends of the Essex based Royal British Legion Youth Marching Band, a group of 90 plus youngsters who to date have many national titles and credits it its name as well as a recent well documented appearance at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

The older generation of players in Brentwood Brass satisfy their love of music by performing sitting down rather than marching, but in the process have raised more than £10,000 for charity.

With a repertoire encompassing arrangements of most of the big bands including Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, the band plays anything from Bizet to Vaughan Williams as well.

The concert in September kept the mood light and included a good selection with Gene Kelly’s Singing in the Rain, Breezing Down Broadway and New York New York in honour of Joseph.

The good news came from Vince at the end of November saying the transplant was successful and Joseph would soon be going home. He said: “The doctors are amazed at his progress and said that looking at the lungs you would never know he had had a transplant. He has been exercising and playing sports like tennis that he has never been able to play before in his life.

In a world of challenges, this is a success story of family, faith and friendship spanning the Atlantic and enhancing the beauty of music by working together to give another human being the important gift of life.