Help Grant

For those of you who are lucky enough to know him, or to those that don’t thank you for taking time out of your day to make it this far. For taking this simple step towards lending a hand to someone you might not even know, a complete stranger, for aiding my dad Grant in this time of need.

Its hard for me to condense his life and what he means to so many people into a few short paragraphs, an entire book wouldn’t give enough room to communicate what a wonderful man he truly is.

A Father, a brother, a son, an uncle, a friend.

An entertainer, a facilitator of fun, a terrible but passionate dancer, the one who ensures your drink is never empty.

The shoulder for all too lean on, the practical advisor, an endless well of support.

Thirty year nurse veteran, a life devoted to helping others, a sailor, a surfer, a fixer, a dreamer.

But most of all, Grant is a fighter.

If you give him an inch he will run a mile, hell he’ll run ten if it’s a path towards life. Upon waking after brain surgery to remove his second melanoma metastases, a high invasive surgery where you are kept in a low stimuli room with an expectation of months of recovery. Grants first request wasn’t a groggy reach towards a glass of water but when he could literally get back out on the water, on his surf board. Within 2 hours he was up and moving around the ward, removing his own bandages and drip much to his nurses disgust and was discharged in a record 48 hours. He then came home and acted like nothing had ever happened, what brain surgery? What Cancer? What’s next? Move on, move forward and live. This is only one of many instances where dad has faced unthinkable illness, come face to face with mortality and walked away unscathed determined to live another day.

Unfortunately this battle will be the hardest of his life so far, the final stand off. Despite his iron clad resolve the best we can hope for is time to gather his resources and fight. Unfortunately for Grant and the ones that love him most time doesn’t come cheap, in fact time here time can only be bought with a small fortune.

The only treatment available to Grant is Pembrolizumb, a new drug never tried before in New Zealand that is completely unfunded. This treatment is administered every three weeks, it is hoped that it will enable Grants immune system to recognize the cancer cells.

Each treatment will cost around $12,000 not including travel costs to Auckland.

The treatment will be on going for what remains of his life, to put that into perspective just 10 treatments (that’s only 7 months) costs over $116,091

Everyone who knows Grant would give the moon and the stars to buy more time with him, unfortunately we don’t have the moon nor the stars at our disposal. But we are giving every penny that we can, but I will not be enough. So after a life devoted to caring for the wellbeing of others as a nurse it is now Grant who is in need.

Any contribution will help, every penny will be utilized in his fight and you can guarantee he will. Not a second of this bought time will be wasted, nor will we forget the generosity of others.