Tragically Hip fan with same cancer as Gord Downie gets tickets to final show

Moncton resident Jason DeRoche will be at the final concert on the Tragically Hip's summer tour, and it's all thanks to a Facebook post by his wife. 

The 39-year-old was diagnosed with the same Stage 4 brain cancer as Hip singer Gord Downie just weeks ago. 

A hardcore Hip fan, Jason and his wife, Amanda DeRoche, were hoping to get tickets to one of the shows, but the 15-concert Man Machine Poem tour sold out in minutes.

Amanda DeRoche posted their story to the Tragically Hip's Facebook page, and her heartfelt words prompted fans to share the post over 5,000 times. 

On Friday, the DeRoches got a call from the brother of Hip drummer Johnny Fay offering them tickets to the Aug. 20 show in Kingston, Ont. 

Amanda DeRoche said the call was "completely unexpected."

"I think I probably cried the entire way through the phone call," she said.

She explained how the conversation began: "He said, 'You don't know me, but my name is Paul Fay, and my brother is Johnny Fay. And we want to help you.' "

Jason DeRoche couldn't believe his ears as he sat nearby, listening to the call. 

"I just sat there trying to keep my emotions in. I was in disbelief, just complete disbelief," he said.

He had no idea that his wife's Facebook post would take off in such a way, he said. 

"It's unbelievable," DeRoche said. "All this started off with me making a joke about how great it would be to go."

After undergoing brain surgery three weeks ago, Jason DeRoche said his and his wife's spirits are up. "We're keeping things positive, and this certainly helps," he said. 

"It still feels like a dream."