The Crying Heart

Hello New Zealand and to others that live outside the geographical land of Aotearoa. First I would like to introduce to you all a delightful young man by the name of Charles. A man who shows strength and love. A man who makes sacrifices and commitments. Charles has always put others before himself; this shows through his empathy and compassion for people.

Charles was raised by his Grand Mother (Mummy) from birth. She was the love of his heart. Unfortunately, cancer claimed her life too soon. Charles was age 8 when Mummy was laid in the earth to rest. Charles was left shattered, contemplating taking his own life. Adults can forget that a child has feelings too. Sometimes they don’t take the time to observe and ask ‘Are you alright’? Therefore Charles suffered in silence.

He ventured out moving from family to family feeling deprived of love. He searched for a loving family that he could call his own but didn’t quite fit the family curriculum. He became the sole provider who took on life's challenges. A father figure to several families of children that were less fortunate. Children who did not know their own father or know if their father was coming to visit. He gave unconditionally. Sad to say those memories are an echo of used and abused. Charles became a money figure rather than a father figure.

Today, Charles faces a life threating challenge. Charles was admitted into Auckland Hospital mid-January 2017. He suffers from falls, memory loss, confusion and headaches. After running several tests the House Surgeon delivered his results. His CT scan showed he had a Brain Tumour. At that time Charles went through non-responsive moments during seizures drifting in and out. He didn’t know what was happening or what was going on around him. By early evening things became more serious ‘life threating’ the seizures were reoccurring more than normal within a short span of time. In fear of death, he was rushed into theatre to have his tumour removed. Around the same time, Charles was also given devastating news that he now had incurable stage 4 Lung Cancer. Charles had reached his breaking point. I caught a glimpse of an innocent child through the teary eyes of a grown man. The life expectancy of stage 4 Lung Cancer is 12 months. He could go before then.

Late June was the return of the tumour; only this time worse than before! Charles is left at home on his own for up to 12hrs struggling to take care of himself. Most of his waking moments are of him crying alone. He shields himself from under the mask of positivity. One slight negative thought as he say’s would “Kill the Fighting Spirit”. Now is the time for me as his Nurturer to care for a self-sacrificing man.

● I want to be there to catch him when he falls, to

say its okay you're safe now.

● I want to be there to wipe his tears, to say it’s

okay to cry when you’re feeling scared.

● I want to tell him never to say ‘sorry’ when he

falls through no fault of his own.

The most difficult part I find to tell in this story is to ask for financial support.

Please HELP! The Crying Heart