Third brain surgery

This is my dad. Such an amasing man. Sadly, 9 years ago he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had his first brain surgery.  About two year later during an annual check-up they determined that the tumour has drastically grown again and said that it needs to be removed urgently or he will die within 6 months.  Dad went through the trauma of a second brain surgery but unfortunatly this time it was not without any consequences. Due to the position of the tumour growing into the main artery and portion of the brain, surgery was more aggressive and as a result dad lost the function of his left side of his body immediately after the operation. He spent months in rehab hospital and also underwent radiotherapy.  Eventually he was allowed to go back home but modifications had to be done to their home to make it safer and easier for dad to move around. He got stronger and started so get limited movement back in his left side.   Eventually he started walking with a walking-stick very slowly and with great difficulty.  I was blessed enough that at that point in time dad had built up enough strenght to walk with me down the isle. I will never forget that blessing! Then numerous times dad fell. From minor falls with only bruising to more serious falls where he cut open his forehead and had to be rushed to hospital for stitches or where he hurt his shoulder so badly that he had to get a shoulder operation. Then one day he had a really really bad fall and hit the back of his head, resulting in blood on the brain. He was back in hospital and rehab for weeks which resulted in a major setback. Since then he has never fully recovered again to the strenght he had after he came out of the rehab the first time.  He now has to walk with a stroller and with head protection on as he may not be able to survive another hit to the head. He is also very weak and cannot walk very far or stand for more than a couple of minutes.

All this is however nothing compared to the extremely sad news we received earlier this year that the brain tumour has started growing again rapidly on the oposite side, with two new small ones as well. Dad now faces the fact that he would most likely need to go for his third brain surgery as radiotherapy is no longer an option. Radiosurgery was considered but both that and brain surgery are high risk with a 50/50 chance. As the tumour is now growing on the other side, it could also mean that he would lose the use of his right side (the functioning side).  With all this happening he still remains positive and accepts the cards life has dealt him, and he always tries to be strong for us. He has been forced to retire from work althought he has a brilliant mind and would have worked for years to come would his body have allowed him. My dad is such a kind hearted caring and loving person and I wish I could give him even just a small piece back of the joy, love, support and courage he has given me.  I cannot take his current medical concerns away, I cannot upgrade his body and buy him a new one, and I cannot take the financial stress away of having to worry about repaying a mortgage and living costs without any future income. But I would absolutely love to be able to give him and mum just a small piece of joy back. Just to enable them to enjoy special moments while they still can. And that is why I started this campaign. I hope to raise funds so that dad can buy himself a mobility scooter. So that he can get out of the house and just drive down the street to see the ocean, or go to a shopping centre with mum to buy food and be around other people. At the moment they are pretty much confined to home as dad can't really walk and mum can't leave him alone too long in case he falls. A mobility scooter will just give them a little piece of freedom and life back. Hopefully he can get one that folds up and is not too heavy for mum to lift as we work all day and most of the time can't help her. I believe that this will just give them a bit of joy to forget about the journey ahead and create some special memories. 

With this I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart if you feel that you would like to help towards giving them a little bit of life back. No matter how small, it will have a big impact in someone's life. Someone who alway still looks at how he can help others regardless of what is happening in his life. And I am proud to say that that person is my dad xxx