Donate for Alycia's Dream Wedding
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On the 21st of July 2017 Alycia Bates was tragically diagnosed with terminal stage 4 brain cancer, at only age 30. Despite this adversity her long term partner of ten years decided to bring some joy back into her life and proposed to her on the eve of her 31st birthday party. Now Alycia’s friends and family, with assistance from John Parker Events are looking to raise funds to secure Alycia’s dream wedding – as recent medical bills are as high as $20’000. We are aiming to raise $30’000 to allow Alycia to have the most fantastic and magical day imaginable, with any additional proceeds or over-funding being donated directly to cancer research charities. John Parker Events Mobile Bar has also reached out and donated a completely free hens night cocktail experience, which is scheduled two weeks before Alycia’s wedding day! Your kindness would be extremely appreciated and would directly support a cancer patients dream! Alycia would like to add the concept for this fund was never Alycia’s idea and was instead proposed by the boys from John Parker Events, Alycia is kind and compassionate person and has never asked for anything before from anyone in her whole life.
Words From Alycia:
This is the story of my onset of symptoms and my life as I know it changing unbeknownst to me…
Now I’ve been told by the experts that there is no way my tumour formed when I started to experience the onset of symptoms, perhaps it’s when the cells (glial) started to go bad, but the chances are that if I had an MRI back in 2016 then it would have shown nothing or been inconclusive. What I am told is that Stage 4 glioma is an aggressive fast growing cancer that can be fatal if left untreated for 4 months…. So no matter how I look at it, after all I have been through I am lucky to be alive!!
I write this not to slag off my treating doctors, but to remind anyone reading this of the importance of having a regular GP who is familiar with both your history as well as your families and to remind you not to let anyone discredit what you are experiencing. Be tough, precise and thorough and be persistent if you feel you’re being ignored.
If we can bring awareness to this dreadful disease, and a potential cure, I would be happier, cancer was not even on our radar or an option I don’t want anyone else left blindsided or in a position where a diagnosis is not forthcoming straightaway.
I have learnt that life is short, don’t wait around for things to happen, go after what you want and the most important thing we have to give is our time, spending time with loved ones (friends, family and the like) is most important; and
Not to get caught up on the little things, almost everything can wait until tomorrow so why bother stressing now; as well as
Taking the time to enjoy life, not work so hard, go on holidays, create memories and have fun is paramount
Words From Alycia’s Bridesmaid’s Krystle And Cat
Krystle
Alycia and I have been friends for nearly 15 years. The bond between is something like no other. We would always reach out to each other even when years had past as Alycia was someone I always knew I wanted and needed in my life until we were old. In June 2017 Alycia and her partner Mark went and travelled Europe together. While she was over there she messaged me telling me she had fainted, however we both just thought It was basic vertigo or perhaps she was pregnant! However, despite numerous GP appointments and continued symptoms Alycia was still treated for basic migraines. She was continually ignored. Once we were both back in Melbourne I planned to catch up with Alycia as we didn’t get to catch up between both our trips. Walking into her house we just did the usual chatting and tour of her new home she had moved into. I briefly mentioned when she was expecting to have kids and use the spare room. That was the moment everything changed, Alycia looked at me and just blurted out that she has stage 4 terminal brain cancer.
Alycia is the kind of person that will always put others wellbeing in front of hers and would never ask for anything and make someone worry about her ever. Even after telling me what was happening she still kept such serious details about her health even up until just recently a secret as she didn’t want to worry anyone about it, cause that’s just how special and beautiful this girl is. Alycia never ever and I mean ever asks for anything off anyone and even when I told her about this amazing offer from Elliot and Luke from John Parker Events who were touched by her story she couldn’t believe someone would want to do this for her when they have never met her. She is a woman with a heart of gold and deserves the wedding of her dreams without the financial stress and impact on her health.
Cat
I will never forget the morning I woke up to a text from Alycia, “You need to move back to Melbourne”. This was the day that Alycia found out that she had a mass in the back of her brain, later we would find out that it was the most aggressive form of astrocytoma in her brain stem. Amazingly, when I arrived to visit in hospital that day, Alycia had a smile on her face, wanted to know about my day and wanted to make sure I was OK. That’s the thing about Alycia, it’s never all about her and sometimes it really should be! All along each time we got an update, Alycia was worried that I or the people around her would be OK to hear the bad news, trying to reassure others when most of us would need the reassuring! Since that day Alycia has endured surgery, radiotherapy and now chemotherapy with a positivity and strength I could never imagine having. Despite battling extreme fatigue, Alycia pushes on with her positive attitude, the odds may be against her but this woman is strong. Alycia would never ask for help or presume that she deserves something because of this, but it would be so amazing to see her have the wedding of her dreams without worrying about the impact on her fiancé as the medical costs continue to roll in.
Words from John Parker Events
When we heard Alycia’s story we were so heavily moved that we knew we had to do something to help. This deeply emotional tragedy is one that could happen to anybody, so we suggested that Alycia attempt to raise funds to increase awareness for brain cancer in the populations youth, whilst encouraging her to have a fantastic wedding.
John Parker Events is determined to raise this awareness and encourage people with symptoms to get checked regularly for the worst case scenario. If we can help at least one person identify their symptoms early enough to allow treatment, we would be thrilled.
On top of this we are offering Alycia a free hens night cocktail experience and covering all of her hens night costs! We hope that this will encourage others to make a healthy donation to the cause.
Medical History Timeline
Jan/Feb 2016 complained to my sister of vertigo like symptoms (and my hearing/ sound cutting in and out, a lot like throbbing in ears) and feeling of dizzy/nausea when getting off the train);
July 2016 (approx.) I mentioned daily headaches to my GP; prescribed pain killers.
24 December 2016 Mark and I moved into our first home together;
21 June 2017 GP recommended physio and/or massage re: potential pinched nerve in neck and told to monitor symptoms and come back depending on same for an MRI referral;
23 June 2017 fainted at Ginifer Train Station,
24 June 2017 had the first indication something was really wrong; I could barely concentrate on writing a shopping list and my short term memory was very hazy.
27 june went back to doctor, GP gave me vertigo exercises.
On 8 July I saw another doctor for the results who told everything was normal and that all the tests were overkill. I was prescribed a migraine medication called Sumatriptan.
09.07.2017 Had an episode in Bunnings and later could not move my feet properly – was rushed to hospital. I fainted outside of emergency and couldn’t feel my left side, nor walk. Woke up on the 10 July 2017. On the afternoon of 11 JULY 2017 I had my first MRI
At this point we were given the news that the MRI had shown I had what they were calling a “4x5cm mass growth in my brain surrounded by fluid. Was sent to hospital for further testing.
Surgery date: 18 July 2017 I was admitted and underwent a 5 hour brain surgery;
21 July 2017 meeting where life as we knew it changed, received the news of stage 4 terminal cancer, treatment isn’t effective on this type of cancer and could be fatal within 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, 10 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, its just unknown, but hopefully I would survive for sometime.
21 July 2017 transferred to Brunswisk Private for physiotherapy to assist with “wild walking”, learn how to use my peripheral vision again and strengthen left sided deficit, effectively learn how to walk again.
July – August 2017 we Underwent Melbourne IVF treatment to save our embryos in the hope that one day I will be cancer free and Mark and I will be able to have babies via surrogate (we live in hope); Started chemo shortly after.
17 September 2017 despite everything we were going through, the fact that I tried to get Mark to leave ( this was not the life we had planned, I was unwell and my life was effectively on hold, I didn’t want mark’s life to be put on hold as well, he is healthy, fighting fit and I didn’t want him being held back in life because of me) he proposed on my 31st birthday and we’re planning to tie the knot on 05.05.2018, our 10 year anniversary! It’s not how we planned, we always planned to get married after we had children and we wanted our kids to be our flower girl/page boy, but some things aren’t mean to be.
January 2018 I had an update MRI and it was found that the tablet chemo I was on was not working as well as they had hoped and there was growth. My treatment plan had to be changed and I was then put on a drug called Avastin which came with a 20k price tag and odds of:10-20% chance of shrinking the tumour and a 20-30% chance of stopping growth; this was the recommended route because overall the drug is generally well tolerated and gives good results.
Words From Alycia:
This is the story of my onset of symptoms and my life as I know it changing unbeknownst to me…
Now I’ve been told by the experts that there is no way my tumour formed when I started to experience the onset of symptoms, perhaps it’s when the cells (glial) started to go bad, but the chances are that if I had an MRI back in 2016 then it would have shown nothing or been inconclusive. What I am told is that Stage 4 glioma is an aggressive fast growing cancer that can be fatal if left untreated for 4 months…. So no matter how I look at it, after all I have been through I am lucky to be alive!!
I write this not to slag off my treating doctors, but to remind anyone reading this of the importance of having a regular GP who is familiar with both your history as well as your families and to remind you not to let anyone discredit what you are experiencing. Be tough, precise and thorough and be persistent if you feel you’re being ignored.
If we can bring awareness to this dreadful disease, and a potential cure, I would be happier, cancer was not even on our radar or an option I don’t want anyone else left blindsided or in a position where a diagnosis is not forthcoming straightaway.
I have learnt that life is short, don’t wait around for things to happen, go after what you want and the most important thing we have to give is our time, spending time with loved ones (friends, family and the like) is most important; and
Not to get caught up on the little things, almost everything can wait until tomorrow so why bother stressing now; as well as
Taking the time to enjoy life, not work so hard, go on holidays, create memories and have fun is paramount
Words From Alycia’s Bridesmaid’s Krystle And Cat
Krystle
Alycia and I have been friends for nearly 15 years. The bond between is something like no other. We would always reach out to each other even when years had past as Alycia was someone I always knew I wanted and needed in my life until we were old. In June 2017 Alycia and her partner Mark went and travelled Europe together. While she was over there she messaged me telling me she had fainted, however we both just thought It was basic vertigo or perhaps she was pregnant! However, despite numerous GP appointments and continued symptoms Alycia was still treated for basic migraines. She was continually ignored. Once we were both back in Melbourne I planned to catch up with Alycia as we didn’t get to catch up between both our trips. Walking into her house we just did the usual chatting and tour of her new home she had moved into. I briefly mentioned when she was expecting to have kids and use the spare room. That was the moment everything changed, Alycia looked at me and just blurted out that she has stage 4 terminal brain cancer.
Alycia is the kind of person that will always put others wellbeing in front of hers and would never ask for anything and make someone worry about her ever. Even after telling me what was happening she still kept such serious details about her health even up until just recently a secret as she didn’t want to worry anyone about it, cause that’s just how special and beautiful this girl is. Alycia never ever and I mean ever asks for anything off anyone and even when I told her about this amazing offer from Elliot and Luke from John Parker Events who were touched by her story she couldn’t believe someone would want to do this for her when they have never met her. She is a woman with a heart of gold and deserves the wedding of her dreams without the financial stress and impact on her health.
Cat
I will never forget the morning I woke up to a text from Alycia, “You need to move back to Melbourne”. This was the day that Alycia found out that she had a mass in the back of her brain, later we would find out that it was the most aggressive form of astrocytoma in her brain stem. Amazingly, when I arrived to visit in hospital that day, Alycia had a smile on her face, wanted to know about my day and wanted to make sure I was OK. That’s the thing about Alycia, it’s never all about her and sometimes it really should be! All along each time we got an update, Alycia was worried that I or the people around her would be OK to hear the bad news, trying to reassure others when most of us would need the reassuring! Since that day Alycia has endured surgery, radiotherapy and now chemotherapy with a positivity and strength I could never imagine having. Despite battling extreme fatigue, Alycia pushes on with her positive attitude, the odds may be against her but this woman is strong. Alycia would never ask for help or presume that she deserves something because of this, but it would be so amazing to see her have the wedding of her dreams without worrying about the impact on her fiancé as the medical costs continue to roll in.
Words from John Parker Events
When we heard Alycia’s story we were so heavily moved that we knew we had to do something to help. This deeply emotional tragedy is one that could happen to anybody, so we suggested that Alycia attempt to raise funds to increase awareness for brain cancer in the populations youth, whilst encouraging her to have a fantastic wedding.
John Parker Events is determined to raise this awareness and encourage people with symptoms to get checked regularly for the worst case scenario. If we can help at least one person identify their symptoms early enough to allow treatment, we would be thrilled.
On top of this we are offering Alycia a free hens night cocktail experience and covering all of her hens night costs! We hope that this will encourage others to make a healthy donation to the cause.
Medical History Timeline
Jan/Feb 2016 complained to my sister of vertigo like symptoms (and my hearing/ sound cutting in and out, a lot like throbbing in ears) and feeling of dizzy/nausea when getting off the train);
July 2016 (approx.) I mentioned daily headaches to my GP; prescribed pain killers.
24 December 2016 Mark and I moved into our first home together;
21 June 2017 GP recommended physio and/or massage re: potential pinched nerve in neck and told to monitor symptoms and come back depending on same for an MRI referral;
23 June 2017 fainted at Ginifer Train Station,
24 June 2017 had the first indication something was really wrong; I could barely concentrate on writing a shopping list and my short term memory was very hazy.
27 june went back to doctor, GP gave me vertigo exercises.
On 8 July I saw another doctor for the results who told everything was normal and that all the tests were overkill. I was prescribed a migraine medication called Sumatriptan.
09.07.2017 Had an episode in Bunnings and later could not move my feet properly – was rushed to hospital. I fainted outside of emergency and couldn’t feel my left side, nor walk. Woke up on the 10 July 2017. On the afternoon of 11 JULY 2017 I had my first MRI
At this point we were given the news that the MRI had shown I had what they were calling a “4x5cm mass growth in my brain surrounded by fluid. Was sent to hospital for further testing.
Surgery date: 18 July 2017 I was admitted and underwent a 5 hour brain surgery;
21 July 2017 meeting where life as we knew it changed, received the news of stage 4 terminal cancer, treatment isn’t effective on this type of cancer and could be fatal within 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, 10 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, its just unknown, but hopefully I would survive for sometime.
21 July 2017 transferred to Brunswisk Private for physiotherapy to assist with “wild walking”, learn how to use my peripheral vision again and strengthen left sided deficit, effectively learn how to walk again.
July – August 2017 we Underwent Melbourne IVF treatment to save our embryos in the hope that one day I will be cancer free and Mark and I will be able to have babies via surrogate (we live in hope); Started chemo shortly after.
17 September 2017 despite everything we were going through, the fact that I tried to get Mark to leave ( this was not the life we had planned, I was unwell and my life was effectively on hold, I didn’t want mark’s life to be put on hold as well, he is healthy, fighting fit and I didn’t want him being held back in life because of me) he proposed on my 31st birthday and we’re planning to tie the knot on 05.05.2018, our 10 year anniversary! It’s not how we planned, we always planned to get married after we had children and we wanted our kids to be our flower girl/page boy, but some things aren’t mean to be.
January 2018 I had an update MRI and it was found that the tablet chemo I was on was not working as well as they had hoped and there was growth. My treatment plan had to be changed and I was then put on a drug called Avastin which came with a 20k price tag and odds of:10-20% chance of shrinking the tumour and a 20-30% chance of stopping growth; this was the recommended route because overall the drug is generally well tolerated and gives good results.
Organizer
Krystle Moyle
Organizer
Hillside VIC
