Support Dad’s Cancer Battle
Donation protected
As some of you may already know, my Dad has been very unwell the past few months. Unfortunately in April he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, inoperable.
My father dedicated his entire life to the service of his elderly 86 year old mother and sister abroad in Tunisia, to the extent that around 10 years ago he moved over there more or less permanently to stay with them, leaving us, his 4 kids and wife in the UK.
He missed us terribly, but no doubt had to be the son my grandmother required, and till this day she sings his praises as a true hero who left everything he loved to support her.
We flew him out to the UK when he began suffering with severe vomiting and abdominal cramps. We managed to get him over here just before the UK Coronavirus lockdown came into play, and he spent weeks in hospital without any of us able to visit him due to the visitor ban. It felt awful knowing that just when we could finally see our father he had to be locked away in a ward with only our phones between us. He was unable to eat or drink anything and was nourished through an IV drip. He lost an incredible amount of weight and was extremely malnourished. I fear if we hadn't of got him over to the UK in time things may have ended much sooner. Unbeknown to us, a tumour had grown in my father's stomach, specifically in between his stomach and intestine, which subsequently made it impossible to process any food. After two procedures that installed a stent to alleviate some of the blockage, my father began to slowly eat and drink again, and we were hopeful an operation to remove this growth could be possible. Unfortunately, we were eventually told that the cancer had already rapidly spread and they were unable to operate, and due to the current coronavirus climate, even chemotherapy would not be an effective option.
When the news was finally broken to us all it has been very difficult to process. All praise to God almighty that this experience has made him a more grateful man, despite knowing he may not have very long with us.
I’ve never known a more selfless man, to put aside so much for the sake of his responsibilities. He’s given us everything and I hope we can give back just a little to rectify his affairs in this final stage of his beautiful life.
Due to the nature of the situation in Tunisia, if my father was to pass today his elderly mother and sister would suffer extreme hardship by having their only pillar of support taken away from them.
Neither my grandmother nor my aunt are able to work, read or write and are therefore extremely vulnerable on their own. I aim to do everything in my power has Dad’s only son to fill his shoes, but it would be a shame not to even try and raise a fund for his sake.
There is reluctance in us to start this, but I want to give my father true peace of mind and let him know that everything will be taken care of.
Where will the funds be spent?
As alluded to above, this has been a very unexpected turn of events, and thus nothing has been put in place to give my father and those he is responsible for any level of security. The following are aims to take care of:
- Repatriate my father to Tunisia to live out the rest of his time with our grandmother
- Fund any ongoing medical treatment in Tunisia (chemotherapy, quality of life operations etc)
- Fund medicines and medical treatments for our grandmother
- Take care of inevitable funeral costs and related arrangements
- Clear any outstanding debts incurred and any unresolved matters my father has left behind
- Financially support our vulnerable grandmother and auntie during a very uncertain period (food, bills, maintenance etc)
- Cover transport costs to and from doctors and hospitals for both my father if he requires it over there, but also our grandmother who regularly requires it.
- Provide my grandmother and aunt a level of financial security in the event a further emergency arises.
Please feel free to get in touch with any queries or anything I may have left out.
Thank you for your support it's truly appreciated.
My father dedicated his entire life to the service of his elderly 86 year old mother and sister abroad in Tunisia, to the extent that around 10 years ago he moved over there more or less permanently to stay with them, leaving us, his 4 kids and wife in the UK.
He missed us terribly, but no doubt had to be the son my grandmother required, and till this day she sings his praises as a true hero who left everything he loved to support her.
We flew him out to the UK when he began suffering with severe vomiting and abdominal cramps. We managed to get him over here just before the UK Coronavirus lockdown came into play, and he spent weeks in hospital without any of us able to visit him due to the visitor ban. It felt awful knowing that just when we could finally see our father he had to be locked away in a ward with only our phones between us. He was unable to eat or drink anything and was nourished through an IV drip. He lost an incredible amount of weight and was extremely malnourished. I fear if we hadn't of got him over to the UK in time things may have ended much sooner. Unbeknown to us, a tumour had grown in my father's stomach, specifically in between his stomach and intestine, which subsequently made it impossible to process any food. After two procedures that installed a stent to alleviate some of the blockage, my father began to slowly eat and drink again, and we were hopeful an operation to remove this growth could be possible. Unfortunately, we were eventually told that the cancer had already rapidly spread and they were unable to operate, and due to the current coronavirus climate, even chemotherapy would not be an effective option.
When the news was finally broken to us all it has been very difficult to process. All praise to God almighty that this experience has made him a more grateful man, despite knowing he may not have very long with us.
I’ve never known a more selfless man, to put aside so much for the sake of his responsibilities. He’s given us everything and I hope we can give back just a little to rectify his affairs in this final stage of his beautiful life.
Due to the nature of the situation in Tunisia, if my father was to pass today his elderly mother and sister would suffer extreme hardship by having their only pillar of support taken away from them.
Neither my grandmother nor my aunt are able to work, read or write and are therefore extremely vulnerable on their own. I aim to do everything in my power has Dad’s only son to fill his shoes, but it would be a shame not to even try and raise a fund for his sake.
There is reluctance in us to start this, but I want to give my father true peace of mind and let him know that everything will be taken care of.
Where will the funds be spent?
As alluded to above, this has been a very unexpected turn of events, and thus nothing has been put in place to give my father and those he is responsible for any level of security. The following are aims to take care of:
- Repatriate my father to Tunisia to live out the rest of his time with our grandmother
- Fund any ongoing medical treatment in Tunisia (chemotherapy, quality of life operations etc)
- Fund medicines and medical treatments for our grandmother
- Take care of inevitable funeral costs and related arrangements
- Clear any outstanding debts incurred and any unresolved matters my father has left behind
- Financially support our vulnerable grandmother and auntie during a very uncertain period (food, bills, maintenance etc)
- Cover transport costs to and from doctors and hospitals for both my father if he requires it over there, but also our grandmother who regularly requires it.
- Provide my grandmother and aunt a level of financial security in the event a further emergency arises.
Please feel free to get in touch with any queries or anything I may have left out.
Thank you for your support it's truly appreciated.
Organizer
Mohamed Rezgui
Organizer
England