Harry-Krish’s story

The Person

Harry-Krish (or Harry to many friends and family) was a beloved father, husband, son, brother and friend to many. Very sadly we lost him on the 15th of October 2014, aged 39 and this has left an explainable huge void in all of our lives. 

From a young age, he was cheeky, happy, funny, loving, caring, thoughtful, sensitive, considerate and always surrounded by friends and family. Harry-Krish started St Columba’s College at the age of 7 and left at 18, having forged many solid lifetime friendships. The Brothers and teachers at St Columba’s still remember him fondly – he was a successful pupil, although there is no doubt he kept them on their toes.

Wherever Harry-Krish was, there was usually mischief afoot – whether he was with school friends, cousins, his great circle of friends in Bournemouth London, Birmingham and St.Albans or just generally at home. Life at the Mootoosamy’s was certainly never dull!

His parents were nothing short of proud of him throughout his life – of course they faced the usual parent worries and headaches ( like when he accidentally set light to the family home or drove his mum’s car into the sea), but the joys far outweighed these beyond words.

 He lived his life in Hatfield and St.Albans latterly with his wonderful wife, 3 gorgeous children and little dog Zorro. 

My cousin Harry was just about the nicest, fun loving, chap you could ever wish to meet. His boundless energy and zest for life always amazed me as he never stood still for one single minute.

One of the biggest gifts Harry possessed (and there were many) was his ability to care. If you were talking to him he would always listen attentively and then be positive in all that he said in return. It’s a warmth that made you feel so important and really endeared you to him.

S. Mootoosamy 2.11.14

His Illness 

Harry-Krish started to suffer some stomach discomfort some months before diagnosis, but he assumed it was indigestion or “heartburn”. This did not improve and he started having a series of tests via the GP. The results never showed anything of concern. One night, in February 2014, he had a sleepless night due to excruciating stomach pain and this started the ball rolling on a new set of tests, eventually, a couple of weeks later, one test revealed Stage 4 pancreatic and liver tumours. Nothing until that point had ever indicated anything serious or life threatening. 

On 21st March 2014, a week after his 39th birthday, Harry-Krish received the diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer during an appointment accompanied by his family. A few days later, he met a well known, reputable Oncologist who assured him, that due to his young age, fitness and healthy lifestyle he would start an aggressive and intense course of chemotherapy immediately.

Harry-Krish embarked on a three month course, with the inevitable pain and feeling very ill. Devastatingly the 3 month review confirmed that the tumours had not shrunk. After desperately reviewing all available options, Harry embarked on a potentially ground-breaking therapy of  ablations by a leading cancer surgeon.

Sadly, after 2 ablations, Harry-Krish suffered from a series of complications that were not readily treatable given the complexity of his illness. 

During the 7 months Harry-Krish was so ill, he remained positive and put up an incredibly tough fight. He of course had a few very down days, but he showed tremendous courage, fight and determination. He always talked about “after I’ve beaten this”. When he told his band members that he couldn’t meet for rehearsals every Tuesday, he told them this was only  a temporary situation, because his breathing had become impaired, but he would be back. 

Harry-Krish showed tremendous strength of character throughout his illness and when it was obvious that he was suffering from excruciating pain, he did not complain. He would joke and laugh with us and never wanted us to be sad.  He fought until the very end.