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Trustee Neil Priscott: "If I can have more years with my brothers, for me that’s worth fighting for"

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Neil Priscott recently joined our board of trustees. He has three siblings with CF: two brothers, John and Stuart, and a sister, Jo, who sadly passed away in 2018. Neil has been fundraising for the Trust all his life. We caught up with Neil to hear more about what it means to be a trustee, his hopes for the future of CF, and why listening to music in a field is his happy place.

Left to right; Stuart, John, Jo and Neil
Left to right; Stuart, John, Jo and Neil

Hi Neil, can you tell us about what inspired you to become a trustee? 

I’ve lived my whole life around CF and seen how it has changed and evolved over time. The stage of my career I’m at, I wanted to become a trustee of a charity which means so much to me. I’ve always raised money for cystic fibrosis – I’ve done lots of challenges as an adult, and one of my earliest memories is trying to help my mum sell Christmas cards to raise money for cystic fibrosis. My mum still sells cystic fibrosis Christmas cards and she’s in her 80s, so it’s a lifelong connection. 

How did your family feel when you told them the news? 

My brother Stuart jokes he has CF and I have the CV! They’ve been really, really supportive and they are proud. One of the main reasons I wanted to do it was in memory of my sister Jo. She passed away in 2018 at the age of 50. She was a secondary school teacher and lived an incredible and fulfilling life and was the most inspirational person I’ve ever met in my life. I hope she’d feel pride in me doing this and wanting to help in my own way. 

It’s our 60th anniversary year and there’s been so much progress in that time, but the journey’s not over yet. What are your hopes for the future of CF? 

CF is not done and ultimately, wouldn’t it be amazing if it was? So that’s the goal. On a personal level, my two brothers are my best mates and I want many, many more years with my two best mates. If I can have more years with my brothers, for me that’s worth fighting for. 

Finally, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time? 

I love sport, so my passions are Liverpool Football Club, Bath Rugby Club and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, which is also where I work. But my true happy place is a music gig. In a field or venue listening to a band is where I’m at my happiest. 

If you are going through a bereavement and would like to talk to someone about it, call our Helpline on 0300 373 1000, or take a look at our bereavement resources. 

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