Finnian Garbutt, a popular young actor from Northern Ireland, asked fans Wednesday to support his wife and child as he enters the "last stages" of a yearslong bout with cancer.
Garbutt had announced Monday that he'd been in considerable pain in the past month and that "scans have shown that the cancer has progressed rapidly in my body and I am now entering the last stages of my life.”
Garbutt, 28, who plays police constable Ryan Power on the BBC crime show "Hope Street," followed up the sad announcement with an appeal Wednesday asking fans to lend a financial helping hand to his soon-to-be widow, Louise Agnew, and their 1½-year-old daughter, Saoirse Garbutt.
"Thank you everyone for the outpouring of support these last few days. I cannot believe how many people across the world have reached out and offered beautiful encouragement in this really difficult time," he said in a statement.
"I am not posting this for sympathy and do not want anyone to donate if they cannot afford to. All I want is my wife and little baby to have the life they deserve and I wanted to be the one that provided that, which now is unfortunately no longer possible."
Garbutt, who is from Bangor in County Down, Northern Ireland, said he was first diagnosed with cancer four years ago. The melanoma was determined to be terminal two years ago after it spread to his liver and lungs.
Despite the heartbreaking developments, Garbutt said Wednesday, the past four years have still had many moments of joy.
"Since being diagnosed 4 years ago I have achieved so many of my life goals — 30 episodes in a TV show, being the lead in a movie (that should be out soon), buying my own house, marrying my best friend and becoming a father to the most incredible baby girl who never fails to make me smile,” he wrote about his wife and daughter and his upcoming movie, "Housejackers."
