A drummer who 'made peace with death' has lost his five-year battle with a brain stem tumour. Karl Riley was just 36.
His family has now paid a heartfelt tribute to him. Karl was a member of the band Carcer City and his family said he 'changed his whole lifestyle' after the devastating diagnosis to give him the 'best possible chance' at shrinking the tumour. Karl spent the last three weeks of his life in intensive care.
Karl, who was a music promoter and manager as well as being a drummer, spent much of his time helping the homeless. His family said he was 'always an advocate for those in need' despite his ongoing battle. His family said his spirituality and beliefs had helped him come to terms with his death.
In a tribute shared by his family with the M.E.N, his parents Glenys and Dave, and sister Jade said: "Karl was an inspiration. He changed his whole lifestyle to give him the best possible chance at reducing the tumour.
"After a lot of research, he quit drinking, smoking and changed his diet. For a while he was doing well, the tumour reduced slightly in size and he didn’t need a walking stick as much. He was able to get out on his trike and would help at the allotment in Great Lever and helped with community projects around Bolton.
"He helped so many people. He had so much time for others. He used to give a lot of time to the homeless in the town centre, he’d speak to them, sit with them and talk, buy them bits of food if ever needed and was just always an advocate for helping those in need. He was also a huge animal lover and advocate for animal rights
"He wasn’t an organised religion man but he was very spiritual and followed people such as Ram Dass, Sadhguru and Eckhart Tolle and believed very strongly in their philosophies. His beliefs helped him come to terms with death, at 36 years old. He said he had ‘made peace with death’ and wasn’t angry and would never sit and feel sorry for himself."
Before his tumour struck, Karl had been on tour with his band around the UK and Europe. The band shared their own tribute to him in a post on Facebook, where his bandmates said they were 'totally devastated'. The post received thousands of likes and comments.
They wrote: "He worked tirelessly, not only as our drummer, but as a manager and PR agent behind the scenes. He was 110 per cent all in, always. He was unapologetically himself all the time, a true multi-dimensional cosmic cowboy from hell who lived and breathed music.
"We will miss you and love you always big man. Thank you for so many incredible memories and helping us achieve our dreams - we couldn't have done it without you."
Karl's sister Jade added: "Since his death, it has been humbling and truly beautiful to see so many people come forward expressing how much they loved Karl. Reading their funny stories about him and how he’d helped their band progress to bigger and better things."
Following Karl's death, a GoFundMe page has been set up in order to raise funds for his funeral. Donations can be made online here.
