Letter written to the Daily Mail by an ill fan.

Tuesday September 5, would have been the 60th birthday of outrageous rock legend Freddie Mercury, who also had a caring side to his nature.

Twenty years ago, I was very ill with spinal cancer. My late mother wrote to Freddie for a signed photo to cheer me up, and just days later Freddie sent me lots of gifts, including a sketch he had drawn of Queen.

The night before I had to go back into hospital, Freddie arranged with my mother to telephone me. He talked about when he lived in Liverpool, as a young singer in a band called IBEX.

He made me laugh with a story about being helped across the road by two Liverpool pensioners after he fell off his platform shoes and sprained his ankle.

For a man who was, unknown to the public, already ill to take time to cheer up a young fan was incredibly brave. He gave me the courage to face yet another operation on my spine. And a week after my surgery, a huge bouquet arrived at the hospital from him.

Freddie was a world star but also a kind and compassionate man. I'm now confined to a wheelchair but I always feel like getting up to dance when I hear a Queen song. I bet Freddie has them rocking in heaven.
Mrs Fiona Lemstone, Liverpool (peron who wrote in)