Joyrides & Journeys 4 Julian - kids cruises

Greetings and regards to all.

On 15/07/2019, my wife and I lost our newborn son Julian at 6 days of age. He was welcomed into this world with an abundance of anticipation and love, and was to be our final child and special little man.

Although he was born in perfect health and returned home with us after 4 days, unbeknownst to all who cared for him unfortunately Julian had contracted a particularly potent strain of Echovirus - and within 12 hours of symptoms showing it had managed to completely shutdown his beautiful little body with catastrophic consequences. He passed away in our arms at Westmead Children’s Hospital that same day after a gruelling fight. We were and continue to be heartbroken and are searching for answers as to how something so deadly can remain mostly unknown to the public, and poorly researched.

Whilst I am struggling and doing my best to come to terms with this very recent and overwhelming loss, I am certain that I want my son Julian’s life to be honoured, celebrated and for it to continue bringing happiness into the world as it did ours for the short time we had with him. I had been rebuilding a vintage project car (my dream car) and had aimed to have it completed before Julian’s birth for our family to enjoy together for cruising on weekends. With Julian’s passing, I have lost the excitement and possibilities of family fun the car had represented to me. It is now just a thing in my home, a thing which is not my son and will always have one passenger missing in the backseat.

But I began to think more deeply about the weight of Julian’s life, my pride in him and his intense struggle, and of all the sick children and their parents I passed in the hallways of Westmead Children’s Hospital. How could a nobody like me maybe make a tangible difference to some of them?

An idea sparked within my mind. I could honour his memory with peace of mind by dedicating and sharing this car with others, by creating ‘Joyrides & Journeys 4 Julian’. The premise being that I would offer my free driving services and car to families of children in need for a short Saturday or Sunday joyride, to perhaps bring some relief and break from the monotony and extreme stress of medical care. And in the process just have some honest easygoing fun with them for a couple of hours. I have spoken to the people who cared for us and Julian at Westmead Childrens Hospital, and the best way for me to do this will be via the Make A Wish Foundation and Ronald McDonald House. They will be supporting and assisting me to see this through and I will be registering as a not-for-profit organisation.

I believe this idea is part of my own grieving process and acceptance of loss, a way to give meaning to what seems like a wasteful tragedy and balance my little boys suffering by sharing his love and reducing the suffering of other children. I already hold a Working With Children accreditation from prior charity work. As momentum grows and time passes, we will be using this platform to raise public awareness of this virus and focus on educating expectant mothers as to the risk and personal protective measures that can be taken.

In order to make this become a reality I humbly ask for any support you can offer me. This does not necessarily mean money, if you or anyone you know can offer auto related services / labour it will help immensely and I can reduce my campaign target. Services needed include auto electrical work, interior upholstery, and autobody paint correction. Although my car is almost complete and running (pictured) it will need final additional modifications and an engineering compliance certification to be comfortable for the kids, legally registered and insured for the safety and protection of all passengers travelling within it. I am not in a financial position to fund this entirely myself in the foreseeable future, so I am reaching out to you all to see if I can gain any community backing to get it off the ground. Based on its success and demand, I may try expanding this in the future as I have many friends with a passion for unique cars.

I want to help take some pain away, bring smiles and create new and enduring memories in otherwise dark times in loving memory of the short life journey of my son Julian.

Questions are completely welcomed if you have any confusion or concerns about this, I’m more than happy to respond as soon as I am able to.

Thank you for your time everyone ✌️