Sunnybrook hospital staff sing touching tribute to Tragically Hip

In a moving tribute to the band, Sunnybrook Hospital staff sang a Tragically Hip song to thankGord Downie, his bandmates and those who havedonated to theGord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research.

In the video, the staff singsafew verses fromthe theband's song Courageas theygather around a large red heart painted on the ground.

Downiewas diagnosed in December withan aggressive, incurable form of brain cancerglioblastoma.

Despite the illness, Downie vowed to join his bandmates of more than 30 years for a summer tour in support of the Hip'snew album, Man Machine Poem.The 15-date Canada-onlytour will go to Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, London, Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa, before ending in Kingston.

Dr. James Perry, Gord Downie's neuro-oncologist, has been touring with the band.

Some of the proceeds fromthe tour this summer will be donated to theSunnybrook Foundation to support cancer research.

According to Perry,it is difficult to get people to realize what a huge impact glioblastoma can have on people's lives.

"It's still relatively under-represented," he said in a video provided by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. "That leads to a lot of difficulty in making a strong case for funding hence the need for philanthropy, and special events to bolster the funding that we have."

Downie and his brightly coloured metallic suits will be front-and centrein the band's shows in Toronto Wednesday,Friday and Sunday.

"If you want to know how Gord's doing, go to a show,"Perrysaid. "I don't know where he [gets] the energy from, he draws it from the crowdand he's such a pro. He said if they were not performing at their best, they wouldn't be doing it."

After Toronto, the band will perform just three more shows in Hamilton, Ottawa and thenKingston for their final performance,which will be broadcast live by CBC on Aug. 20.

"I've been to a lot of concerts, I love music, and I've never heard a louder crowd. There wasn't a dry eye in the house," Perrysaid. "They're just having a tremendous time and everyone understands the significance of this."