Help raise money for Alan's life saving surgery.

My name is Angelique, and this amazing man is my dad. He is 74 years young and not only is he a wonderful father and husband to my mum but an inspiration to all who meet him. He has given his life to helping others but now he is the one who needs help.

My dad was born in Northern Ireland almost 75 years ago, he met the love of his life when he was just 17. He married his sweetheart when they were 20 years old, and went on to have 2 beautiful girls. Life in Northern Ireland at that time was filled with terror; threats, shootings and bombings were a way of life, it wasn't a matter of if you would lose a friend or family member, it was how many would you lose. My parents decided that they didn't want to raise 2 young girls believing this was how life should be. They took a chance, followed their dreams and moved to Australia. Things weren't easy for them, they worked hard to build a life for themselves and their girls, they fought many battles, won some and lost some, made money, lost money, but together they made it through. The biggest and hardest journey they walked together was watching their baby girl fight for her life against the disgusting disease of cancer. Sadly it was a battle she did not win, and almost 7 years ago she grew her wings and went to heaven. They have since taken on the responsibility of being the sole emotional, financial and physical support for their 2 grandchildren, supporting them as they grieved for their mother whilst navigating the terrible journey of dealing with losing a child. Your children are never meant to leave this earth before you.

Losing my sister had a profound effect on my dad, through the journey he reevaluated the road he had walked to this point and knew he had to follow his passion and calling. At 67 years of age, he started the journey into education working at a private school, it soon became apparent he was doing what he was born to do, impacting and changing the lives of countless young people, some who were considered lost discovered the man they called Mr Stewart would not give up, let up or let go until they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were worthy, they were loved and they were created for greatness.

After almost 55 years of marriage, the next giant my parents would face is one of finding out my dad has prostate cancer. The news was unexpected as Dad didn't have any symptoms that are associated with Prostate cancer, thankfully his Doctor did a blood test which revealed things weren't good. After more tests and many biopsies as well as an MRI and a PET scan, the news was delivered, cancer. That word always knocks the wind out of you, but to have seen your baby girl die a slow and painful death at the hands of this disease it almost brings you to your knees. My dad is a great man of faith and it has warmed my heart to see both my parents stand strong and believe that no matter what it will be okay. My mum who was urgently needing to be booked in for surgery herself has put that on hold to make sure she can be there to support my dad.

The second blow in all of this is being told that even though my dad has private health insurance, the out of pocket expenses for the lifesaving Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy, will cost roughly $15,000, my mum messaged and I could feel her despair knowing they didn't have that sort of money, I told her not to stress, we will come up with a plan to get it covered. I didn't know how, but I knew we would. It was at that point that I knew that we were going to need help from our family, friends and wider community. You may not know my dad but I hope reading this has helped you to understand how much of an incredible human being he is and how much he means to so many people and his story is nowhere near finished, let's help give him another chapter or 10 and see him change the lives of many more people.