HAILED a hero and an inspiration for generations to come, motor neurone disease campaigner Gordon Aikman was laid to rest yesterday.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale were among hundreds paying their respects to the 31-year-old, who died earlier this month.
A funeral service was held at Warriston Crematorium in Edinburgh before a larger memorial service in the city where Mr Aikman’s husband Joe Pike led the tributes. He said: “He has made me a better person because, even when he was dying, Gordon taught us all so much about how to live.”
Mr Aikman was 29 and working as the research director for the Better Together campaign when he was diagnosed with MND in 2014.
He focused his efforts on combating the degenerative disease and formed Gordon’s Fightback, successfully lobbying the First Minister to double the number of MND nurses throughout the NHS and raising more than £500,000 for research to help find a cure for the terminal condition.
Ms Sturgeon said she found Gordon an inspiration as he combined treatment with his work and campaigning.
She added: “Gordon faced up to his diagnosis with incredible courage and dignity. His campaign to raise awareness of MND and achieve better care and treatment for those diagnosed was inspirational and will make a huge difference for others in the future.”
Mr Aikman, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, received a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2015.
Ms Dugdale, who had been a close friend of Mr Aikman, said: “Today, I’m saying goodbye, but also thank you.
“Gordon gave us all something so special. He gave us his friendship, his courage and the determination to make things better for those who follow.”
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