Mike Crease, 46, woke up one morning unable to use his legs after a 10-inch abscess had grown on his spine but by the time he reached a specialist, the nerves had been crushed beyond repair.
The musician was first diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia more than 29 years ago, aged 36, and had recently been undergoing treatment in Manchester.
Mike Simkins was working as a senior captain for Thomas Cook Airlines when he refused to fly a plane carrying more than 200 people on account of his lack of sleep.