My son Will was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension by the team at Royal Brompton Hospital in September 2017 after he was struggling to breathe whilst walking. It's a condition where the blood vessels in your lungs become restricted and consequently puts pressure on the right side of your heart - something we’d never heard of before.

His symptoms were very similar to asthma and as a child he had been diagnosed as asthmatic. His symptoms came on very quickly.

Will was given a right heart catheter and told the pressures on his heart were very high. He received drugs to support his heart and open the blood vessels in his lungs. Initially the drugs worked well and Will was able to complete his Sound Production degree at BIMM London.

During the summer of 2017 Will began to struggle again and it was decided to put him on IV drugs to be administered 24/7. Unfortunately, it became apparent that they weren’t working and he was admitted back into Royal Brompton to be monitored closely.

Will sadly had two cardiac arrests whilst there and was taken to Harefield Hospital on Christmas Eve for a double lung and heart transplant. He received donor organs on 29th Dec 2017 but tragically there were complications.

Will lost his battle on 1st February 2018, only 17 months after being diagnosed, aged only 22. 

Last month, Rye Milligan and BIMM London hosted a music event in Will's memory, 'Body & Soul'. Despite only being 22, Will achieved a huge amount in the music industry in a very short space of time; he performed at some of the most prestigious venues and events throughout the country, with notable performances at Reading & Leeds, YNOT Festival, and London’s XOYO.

Following the release of his debut single ‘Gotta Keep’, Will earned himself a following of high-profile artists, such as BBC Radio 1 presenter Monki who subsequently invited him to support her at Junkyard, Southampton. Will came into his stride following on from this and became championed by BBC Music Introducing and earned numerous plays on both Radio 1 and 1xtra.

Thanks to Rye Milligan, BIMM and all involved in hosting their Body & Soul charity gig in memory of Will. They raised an incredible £3,110, this will be split between our Charity and PHA UK.