In loving memory of Brendan Robbins
Donation protected
28/09/85 - 03/08/18 32 years young
Sadly today Brendan lost his long battle with cancer and all our thoughts are with the family, even though he is now gone, none of us will forget the story below and the bravery & courage of such a young man. Keep sharing
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Well I just turned 21 so better make sure I get some income protection, trauma insurance or maybe even life insurance?
No of course you don’t you are only 21!
At this age the world is your oyster, so like many young people your age you head off to explore & travel the world when from out of nowhere, your life is completely turned on its head & you receive the devastating news of being diagnosed with deadly Melanoma & are at the start of a 10 year battle doing everything you can just to stay alive.
This sounds like a story that you believe would never happen to you doesn’t it? but for Brendan Robbins this couldn’t of been any more real & at this point he had 2 choices, is the glass half empty or is it half full? Brendan chose half full.
Brendan's story is one of courage, determination & an unrelenting determination to live, fall in love, get married, have children & to live his life to the fullest one day at a time.
Let’s wind the clock back 10 years, Brendan was full of life, an aspiring sportsman, shared a love of family, friends & had just met the love of his life Hannah, when a simple trip to the doctor led him down the path of becoming one of the longest surviving melanoma patients.
Over the past 10 years there has been so much heartbreak & pain, countless chemo treatments, endless number of operations, dozens of sessions of radiation, too many long stays in hospital to count & more trial drug programs than anyone would care to remember, all whilst Brendan ensured his attitude & spirit was never broken.
Not that he has ever said a word, but everyone would know that these things have to eventually take there toll, whether it’s on him, his wife, their ability to be able to work or just trying to find enough money to meet life’s basic requirements of providing for your family!
Although there has been good times along the way where the outlook was positive, sadly things have taken a real turn recently and Brendan now faces his biggest challenge as we watch this hideous disease take a hold of him. Brendan is living everyday with the real prospect of leaving behind his beautiful wife & son to face the world on their own without him.
As husbands, wives, mothers & fathers I can't begin to imagine what this must be like & whilst as family and friends we can’t do much, what we can do is show our support to them & give so that regardless of what happens Brendan will know just how much people care & that we will always be there for his family.
I think about all the material things we have & at the end of the day the little value they really provide, as I said in the title 'who is thinking of trauma insurance, income protection or even life insurance' at 21! Really makes you think about what is important, or what can we do to help people in need & bring even the smallest amount of joy in the midst of tragedy?
Unless we can bring a cure I’m not sure we can do much, but I am certain that we can all give financially, whether this is $1 or $1000 everything helps, rent, food, medical bills, children... it’s all expensive.
This is that time where we have the opportunity to show how loving human beings come into their own, as we rally around those we love and know & even those that we don’t know that need our help!
So, if you could please give what you can spare, we will make sure it goes directly to helping these beautiful and courageous people who never asked to get sick, have never asked for help & have never done anything to deserve to be in this position.
“Friends love all the time, and a brother is born for times of adversity” Proverbs 17:17
Please.. Be a Brother..
Sadly today Brendan lost his long battle with cancer and all our thoughts are with the family, even though he is now gone, none of us will forget the story below and the bravery & courage of such a young man. Keep sharing
————————————————————————————
Well I just turned 21 so better make sure I get some income protection, trauma insurance or maybe even life insurance?
No of course you don’t you are only 21!
At this age the world is your oyster, so like many young people your age you head off to explore & travel the world when from out of nowhere, your life is completely turned on its head & you receive the devastating news of being diagnosed with deadly Melanoma & are at the start of a 10 year battle doing everything you can just to stay alive.
This sounds like a story that you believe would never happen to you doesn’t it? but for Brendan Robbins this couldn’t of been any more real & at this point he had 2 choices, is the glass half empty or is it half full? Brendan chose half full.
Brendan's story is one of courage, determination & an unrelenting determination to live, fall in love, get married, have children & to live his life to the fullest one day at a time.
Let’s wind the clock back 10 years, Brendan was full of life, an aspiring sportsman, shared a love of family, friends & had just met the love of his life Hannah, when a simple trip to the doctor led him down the path of becoming one of the longest surviving melanoma patients.
Over the past 10 years there has been so much heartbreak & pain, countless chemo treatments, endless number of operations, dozens of sessions of radiation, too many long stays in hospital to count & more trial drug programs than anyone would care to remember, all whilst Brendan ensured his attitude & spirit was never broken.
Not that he has ever said a word, but everyone would know that these things have to eventually take there toll, whether it’s on him, his wife, their ability to be able to work or just trying to find enough money to meet life’s basic requirements of providing for your family!
Although there has been good times along the way where the outlook was positive, sadly things have taken a real turn recently and Brendan now faces his biggest challenge as we watch this hideous disease take a hold of him. Brendan is living everyday with the real prospect of leaving behind his beautiful wife & son to face the world on their own without him.
As husbands, wives, mothers & fathers I can't begin to imagine what this must be like & whilst as family and friends we can’t do much, what we can do is show our support to them & give so that regardless of what happens Brendan will know just how much people care & that we will always be there for his family.
I think about all the material things we have & at the end of the day the little value they really provide, as I said in the title 'who is thinking of trauma insurance, income protection or even life insurance' at 21! Really makes you think about what is important, or what can we do to help people in need & bring even the smallest amount of joy in the midst of tragedy?
Unless we can bring a cure I’m not sure we can do much, but I am certain that we can all give financially, whether this is $1 or $1000 everything helps, rent, food, medical bills, children... it’s all expensive.
This is that time where we have the opportunity to show how loving human beings come into their own, as we rally around those we love and know & even those that we don’t know that need our help!
So, if you could please give what you can spare, we will make sure it goes directly to helping these beautiful and courageous people who never asked to get sick, have never asked for help & have never done anything to deserve to be in this position.
“Friends love all the time, and a brother is born for times of adversity” Proverbs 17:17
Please.. Be a Brother..
Fundraising team: Team Brendan (2)
Bryce Deledio
Organizer
Bentleigh East VIC
Linda Robbins
Team member
