What started as odd, unexplained symptoms — like the smell of burning rubber, weird tastes, and random déjà vu — ended in tragedy for 44-year-old dad-of-three Barry Fair, who initially chalked it all up to stress.
His GP thought the same and dismissed the symptoms, but things took a terrifying turn when Barry suffered a seizure at home. His wife, Leanne, and their son, Rhys, witnessed the whole thing, and Barry was rushed to the hospital. That’s when the devastating truth came out: Barry had a grade 3 astrocytoma, a particularly aggressive brain tumour.
There was barely any time to come to terms with the diagnosis before Barry was whisked in for surgery. On 23 February 2022, surgeons at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh performed a craniotomy to remove the mass from his frontal lobe. They got most of it out, but tests showed the cancer had already spread deeper into the brain, to an area they couldn’t operate on, reported the Sun.
From there, Barry began what would become years of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, pushing through the gruelling treatment with determination and his trademark humour. Leanne, who works as a mobile emergency carer in Fife, said, “He faced years of chemo and radiotherapy and horrible side effects with such courage. He still made us laugh, still played his music, still had time for everyone else.”
They made the most of the time they had — from concerts and family trips to walks with their dog, Spud. Even when he began to lose movement in one hand, Barry refused to give up the things he loved, insisting on playing pool with mates.
Leanne had seen seizures before through her work and knew his first one was serious. “When Barry came round, he was confused and frightened, and I was already preparing myself for what the hospital might find,” she said. An MRI at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy confirmed their worst fears.
Doctors initially gave Barry up to 10 years, but his tumour was aggressive and didn’t respond to treatment. His health took a sharp decline in early 2024. After another seizure, Barry was admitted to the hospital before being brought home under Leanne’s full-time care. He was given just 48 hours to live — but in true Barry fashion, he hung on for seven more weeks, pain-free and surrounded by love, before passing away on 23 April 2024.
Just days after the first anniversary of his death, Leanne completed the Glasgow Kiltwalk on 27 April 2025, raising funds for Brain Tumour Research. “It gave me a reason to keep going,” she said. “But more than anything, I did it for Barry.”
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