A mum has given an emotional tribute to her much loved son after his sudden death.
Sean Martin, who was the lead singer of Indie band The Night Café, died suddenly at the age of 26. The Night Café, made up of Sean, Josh Higgins, Arran O’Connell Whittle and Carl Dillon, announced the news of Sean's death on Monday, November 6.
Jamie Webster and The Wombats were among the musicians to pay tribute to the "amazing" singer whose "legacy will live on forever". Now, his devastated mum has paid tribute to her "beautiful boy" in an emotional statement.
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The tribute, which was shared on the band's Instagram page said: "This is our son Sean. The young man we are so very proud of and who was and is loved so very much.
"Please take the time to read the words in this article. It is a powerful reflection of how we all need to LISTEN and UNDERSTAND when someone you know is suffering with an invisible disability.
"I will be setting up a JustGiving Page in the next few days to do a walk in April 2024 to raise money for the migraine charities. Please help to get our message out there.
"My aim is to work very hard to raise awareness and fight to raise the funding needed to support others. My beautiful boy will be there guiding me all the way. Please support me when I set this up."
A fundraising page has now been set up on the funeral-notices website which can be found here.
In a post on Instagram on Friday, Sean's girlfriend Hannah Thomas told how he'd suffered from chronic migraines everyday since testing positive for covid in 2020, which "turned his life upside down."
Hannah said Sean also had Bipolar disorder - a mental health condition that causes extreme mood changes. Hannah wrote: "Sean has been suffering with chronic migraine since he had covid in 2020.
"It's been an every day battle since then to fight for his life through agonising head pain. His life was turned upside down and we slowly had to adjust and accept this invisible disability which impacted every single aspect of his life drastically.
"I am in awe of his strength and determination to get better so that he could return to what he loved. I'm inspired by his ability to still create through the pain, to create beauty in such an unfair situation. He was let down constantly for years on his health journey and was left with no hope of recovery.
"Unfortunately the pain became too unbearable for any human to live with and that is why he's gone today. Yes talking is important and yes men need people to lean on, but Sean spoke loudly and was still mostly misunderstood/not believed. If I can say one thing it would be to actually listen when people talk and don't deny or minimise anyone's experience."
"If you met Sean you'd know he never did this and the reason is because he faced it all the time, and knew how isolating it felt. Just because you can't see it, does not mean it's not there. See past the smiles people are putting on to make you feel comfortable about their condition and offer safe understanding."
Hannah continued: "I physically can't begin to try and describe how special Sean was, and anyone who met him for more than a minute understands that. Sean, I think back over the last 13 years and wish that things could've been easier for you, more consistent.
"I wish that at times your bipolar didn't send you so far into darkness, or I wish that we could've halved it and met somewhere in the middle. But the truth is I wouldn't change a thing about you. Everything about you and everything you went through gave you a depth that most people including myself lack - and that's what made you so intoxicating.
"I will never ever meet a more raw, honest, loving, talented person, and I've always known that. Together we experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows, but having you love me made it all worth it.
"Unfortunately for you there is nothing you could've done to break us, you never gave up on me before we were together and I never gave up on you after - that's our deal. You protected me from the world and I protected you from yourself, always. I can't go much deeper because it's too painful and that's between me and you, but thank you for choosing me.
"You inspire me now more than ever (as if that's even possible). I feel like the luckiest person on the planet to be called yours. I'll love you forever, you finally have my blessing. It's your turn to not be in pain."
Hannah also shared links to a number of support services for people who suffer from migraines and other invisible illnesses, including: @migrainestrong, the Danielle Foundation and @together_in_pain.
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