I have often thought about how good it would be to write a blog about my son Alex but how can a person fit 20 years of memories into a few line of words. I think I would need another lifetime to express what Alex has fitted into his short life. This is the Eulogy I gave at his funeral. He organised his own funeral & ask if I would speak, one of the hardest things I have ever done!
Alex was born 31st January 1986 & it was not long before we realised that Alex was going to be an independent person who did things on his terms. Not long after he was born he would stay awake until 10 o’clock. A 5min snooze at 6 meant no sleep until 12. Yet put him in a car & within 200metres he was sound asleep, a nightmare if we were coming home in the afternoon. Alex decided that crawling was not for him & went from sitting up to walking. For those of you who think Alex was a skinny guy well as a baby he had more in common with Budda.
Alex went to preschool & soon we were playing musical chairs at home to show him that you can’t win at musical chairs all the time. Alex then went to Vacy school. On his first day Heather drove him to school & told her to stay in car, out he hopped & ran into school. The following Saturday he cried & cried because school was closed & up until his last relapse he just loved to study.
Alex did the usual things that kid do & played soccer, joined cubs & scouts (which he loved) & later on he played rugby league, He enjoyed showing cattle. As he got older he decided that he liked motor bikes ,well he fell off that many times that his handle bars were bent that bad that they almost touched the fuel tank. It was after this that he developed his love of pushbike riding & it was nothing for him to ride 30-40 kilometres. In his teens he joined the Vacy RFS
Alex went to Dungog High where he studied hard but his favourite subject was Ag he loved to help show the schools cattle & once represented the Hunter in the Beef judging competition at the royal Easter show. Although he was having chemo Alex went on to do his HSC .It took him 2 years to finish year 12 & he managed to get a UAI of 87 & came equal first in the state in Agriculture a moment that made us so proud It was at Dungog here that he developed some life long friends & there are to many to thank by name but I just want say thank you being such good friends to Alex.
I not sure if many of his friends knew of his ability to be a miser when it came to money. When he was about 11 he was given money to buy presents well he purchased his present then bragged how he looked for things that were on special & still had money left over. At the first market stall that he & Heather went to sell roses he rang me in panic to say” they had sold all the roses & mum was spending the profit”. At any future markets he guarded the moneybox.
In April 2003 he was first diagnosed with Leukaemia Alex underwent intensive chemo & was in & out of Hospital over the next 3 ½ years I never heard Alex really complain & if he did it was only about hospital food. Alex always loved a joke & when he had to carry around with him an intravenous pump with an antibiotic bottle attached he pulled a label off a Bundy Rum bottle, stuck it to his antibiotic bottle & then went of to a party with what looked like intervenous Bundy. One time Kiralee one of the wonderful nurses at the Mater had to circle an injection site with a pen to check for an allergic reaction. Well quick as flash Alex said if you are going to draw on me then at least leave your phone number the reaction was a beetroot face nurse. We can’t thank the staff & doctors from the Mater enough for over the years they have been just wonderful.
I have to also have to thank Delores Lord or Fairy Del as she is known from the starlight foundation .The first time she came to visit I think Alex thought she was a bit unusual but underneath the persona of Fairy Del is a person who works so hard for the starlight foundation & their wish-granting program. Fairy Del granted Alex his wish of a laptop computer, which was a godsend in hospital as he was able to chat to friends via the Internet. Fairy Del also pulled some strings & got Alex a ride with Mark Skaife in a V8 super car at eastern creek. When Alex relapsed a second time she came to Hospital dress as a fairy & it made his day
We must thank the leukaemia foundation that provided accommodation for us at Westmead for 3 months.
We must thank Big W for keeping Alex on during his illness
Palliative care must get a big rap with their help we were able to keep Alex a home until the end
Thanks to all the people for their kind words & support
I think the thing that sustained Alex the most was canteen. Canteen is an organisation for teens with cancer or for those with parents or sibling with cancer. Alex got so much enjoyment out of the activities they ran. He also got a network of new friends with whom he had a unique bond. Alex grew so much out of his involvement he was able to see through people’s disabilities & see not sick person but someone to be a new friend. I think what other kids had been through gave him strength & I think that often that he thought he was the lucky one.
Alex left this world much as he had started very independent who would crawl rather then be helped. Although only here for a short time & not able to make his mark on the world Alex has touched many people & many people touched him.
Alex was born 31st January 1986 & it was not long before we realised that Alex was going to be an independent person who did things on his terms. Not long after he was born he would stay awake until 10 o’clock. A 5min snooze at 6 meant no sleep until 12. Yet put him in a car & within 200metres he was sound asleep, a nightmare if we were coming home in the afternoon. Alex decided that crawling was not for him & went from sitting up to walking. For those of you who think Alex was a skinny guy well as a baby he had more in common with Budda.
Alex went to preschool & soon we were playing musical chairs at home to show him that you can’t win at musical chairs all the time. Alex then went to Vacy school. On his first day Heather drove him to school & told her to stay in car, out he hopped & ran into school. The following Saturday he cried & cried because school was closed & up until his last relapse he just loved to study.
Alex did the usual things that kid do & played soccer, joined cubs & scouts (which he loved) & later on he played rugby league, He enjoyed showing cattle. As he got older he decided that he liked motor bikes ,well he fell off that many times that his handle bars were bent that bad that they almost touched the fuel tank. It was after this that he developed his love of pushbike riding & it was nothing for him to ride 30-40 kilometres. In his teens he joined the Vacy RFS
Alex went to Dungog High where he studied hard but his favourite subject was Ag he loved to help show the schools cattle & once represented the Hunter in the Beef judging competition at the royal Easter show. Although he was having chemo Alex went on to do his HSC .It took him 2 years to finish year 12 & he managed to get a UAI of 87 & came equal first in the state in Agriculture a moment that made us so proud It was at Dungog here that he developed some life long friends & there are to many to thank by name but I just want say thank you being such good friends to Alex.
I not sure if many of his friends knew of his ability to be a miser when it came to money. When he was about 11 he was given money to buy presents well he purchased his present then bragged how he looked for things that were on special & still had money left over. At the first market stall that he & Heather went to sell roses he rang me in panic to say” they had sold all the roses & mum was spending the profit”. At any future markets he guarded the moneybox.
In April 2003 he was first diagnosed with Leukaemia Alex underwent intensive chemo & was in & out of Hospital over the next 3 ½ years I never heard Alex really complain & if he did it was only about hospital food. Alex always loved a joke & when he had to carry around with him an intravenous pump with an antibiotic bottle attached he pulled a label off a Bundy Rum bottle, stuck it to his antibiotic bottle & then went of to a party with what looked like intervenous Bundy. One time Kiralee one of the wonderful nurses at the Mater had to circle an injection site with a pen to check for an allergic reaction. Well quick as flash Alex said if you are going to draw on me then at least leave your phone number the reaction was a beetroot face nurse. We can’t thank the staff & doctors from the Mater enough for over the years they have been just wonderful.
I have to also have to thank Delores Lord or Fairy Del as she is known from the starlight foundation .The first time she came to visit I think Alex thought she was a bit unusual but underneath the persona of Fairy Del is a person who works so hard for the starlight foundation & their wish-granting program. Fairy Del granted Alex his wish of a laptop computer, which was a godsend in hospital as he was able to chat to friends via the Internet. Fairy Del also pulled some strings & got Alex a ride with Mark Skaife in a V8 super car at eastern creek. When Alex relapsed a second time she came to Hospital dress as a fairy & it made his day
We must thank the leukaemia foundation that provided accommodation for us at Westmead for 3 months.
We must thank Big W for keeping Alex on during his illness
Palliative care must get a big rap with their help we were able to keep Alex a home until the end
Thanks to all the people for their kind words & support
I think the thing that sustained Alex the most was canteen. Canteen is an organisation for teens with cancer or for those with parents or sibling with cancer. Alex got so much enjoyment out of the activities they ran. He also got a network of new friends with whom he had a unique bond. Alex grew so much out of his involvement he was able to see through people’s disabilities & see not sick person but someone to be a new friend. I think what other kids had been through gave him strength & I think that often that he thought he was the lucky one.
Alex left this world much as he had started very independent who would crawl rather then be helped. Although only here for a short time & not able to make his mark on the world Alex has touched many people & many people touched him.
Thank you for sharing this.
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