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The MacPhersons fight cancer - help support them on the journey

  • Thank you Cont........

      29 July 2024
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    Thanks to all of you I have been able to focus on this, I have had children sleeping in my bed when they have been sad, we have taken a trip to Fiji in Hamish’s honour as it was his dream to do for his 50th birthday, I have jumped off boats with the kids, read countless books, played so many card games, watched many of their sports matches and spent time with friends and family.

    Life must go on and I am back into fulltime work and the kids are busy, but we will never forget the kindness of all of you that meant we could take things slowly this year, and do some things that bring us joy too.

    Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

    Jana, Hunter and River xxx

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  • Thank you Friends, Family & Kind Strangers

      29 July 2024
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    Hello lovely friends, family and kind strangers,

    This Givealitte has been closed for a little while now, and I have wanted to write one last post. However, how do I put into words what you all did for us? I have really struggled to write this, and let’s be honest, I am not usually short on words!

    Your generosity meant that Hamish was cared for so beautifully and we did everything we could to save his life. Unfortunately, we weren’t successful but throughout the process Hamish and myself felt loved and supported both financially, and emotionally. To have a community (that’s what I think of you all as) that surrounded us with love and positivity was so humbling.

    As we come up to the 1 year anniversary of Hamish’s passing in September I have found myself looking back.

    One particularly hard conversation I had with Hamish was when I asked him if there was anything I could do for him in the future? I wondered if he wanted me to send River flowers from him on her birthday or always get Hunter up in the middle of the night if there is an All Blacks game on. But it was really simple. “Just keep being a good mum.”

    Continued in next post...........

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    • 29/07/2024 by Sarah

      Hamish would be so proud! x 🫶

  • With Grief and Love

      9 September 2023
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    It is with huge grief that I share the news with you that our beloved Hamish passed away on Wednesday afternoon after his courageous fight against the cruelest disease.

    He was home, surrounded by people who love him, and we know that despite the deepest sadness we are feeling, he was comfortable and well cared for up until his last moments.

    We have been so deeply touched by the outpouring of support from our community. Your generosity changed the time we had together, and I will never ever be able to even begin to explain my immense gratitude for that kindness you have given our family.

    Thank you for your continued love and grace. Navigating the road ahead without Hamish feels enormous. But I know that as I put one foot in front of the other that I am held by my village.

    If you know us personally and need to know funeral arrangements please get in touch.

    Xx Jana

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    • 09/09/2023 by Yvonne

      My name is Yvonne and I knew Hamish as a patron at you lovely restaurant in Lake Hayes Estate. I am Jasmine Bradley’s mum. It is with a heavy heart to hear Hamish has left us. You have been such a strong and caring woman. My love and hugs to you and your beautiful family Jana. I remember Hamish as a vibrant, energetic, friendly guy who lit up the room. Big hugs from Christchurch

    • 09/09/2023 by Rachel

      Deepest condolences, Thankyou Hamish for being the most incredible, funny, talented celebrant for Sam and I xx

    • 09/09/2023 by Jill

      So sorry to hear. Take care of yourselves.

    • 11/09/2023 by baxter

      So sorry to hear about your loss we are here with you always and mourn along side you, you have been so strong through so much and it is so inspiring, sending love to you and all your loved ones ❤️

  • One day at a time

      1 September 2023
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    Hello,

    I have been very quiet online however I wanted to give a short update for you guys.

    Hamish's health has deteriorated significantly. For friends and family who know Hamish personally, I'm sorry to let you know that he is unable to use his phone anymore. We are being supported by an incredible medical team to make him as comfortable as possible at home.

    I know that Hamish would want me to say that we have felt an immense amount of support and we feel very loved.

    xx Jana

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    • 01/09/2023 by Rebecca

      Heartbroken to read your update. Sending lots of love and prayers to you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️

    • 02/09/2023 by Jenna

      Thinking of you all and sending lots of love and strength. My heart is breaking for your beautiful little family xxx

  • Hello friends

      7 August 2023
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    I have been quiet as I have been hunkering down and keeping my little family close.

    The tumours in Hamish’s brain have grown and we are spending lots of time together.

    I did want to pop in and say that this week we have a nurse coming to the house daily while I take the kids to school. This is a private service, and we would absolutely not have been able to afford this if it wasn’t for the support on this Givealittle page. This service gives us peace of mind and some routine for the kids.

    We also moved mountains to go to the All Blacks as a family in the weekend. This involved many moving parts, contingency plans, and a heck of a lot of lovely people helping us out.

    It was the kids first All Blacks game and they got to see it with their dad and some of their best mates. I cried through the national anthem but spent the rest of the game spotting moments of joy and teaching the kids how to do the Mexican wave, plus being SUPER pleased the ABs pulled it out of the bag to win! What a game and what an experience.

    Once again, we would not have had the budget to do this without the donations we received.

    Thank you for your kindness and generosity which has meant we can make these family memories together.

    I don’t have a lot more to say, we are tired, but we are taking things slow and peacefully xx Jana

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  • People are Amazing

      26 June 2023
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    Well, it’s been another roller coaster couple of weeks! We have had 2 mind-blowing fundraisers run by our friends. The effort that went into these was just incredible and they were enjoyed by many. We feel very humbled to have so many people on this journey with us.

    Unfortunately, we also had a meeting with the oncologist last week and he reported that whilst Hamish’s bloods have improved his tumours have a grown 5-10%.

    His day-to-day health hasn’t been great either so the plan going forward is for Hamish to stop the magic pills, and have a double dose of immunotherapy.

    The cost of this is $53k and thanks to you lovely people who have donated we could pay this straight away and get booked in asap.

    Immunotherapy will happen in Dunedin this week, it is quite a simple procedure but it didn’t work last time so please cross your fingers with us that we will have a different result this time.

    Jana xx

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  • New Challenges

      13 June 2023
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    Hello, I thought I would give a little update as it has been a few weeks, however it's hard to know what to say.

    Things change every couple of days however at the same time it feels like nothing changes.

    We found out that Hamish is unable to drive for 12 months due to the brain tumor diagnosis and whilst we know that this is a very sensible decision it has been a bit of a setback.

    We meet with the oncologist every 2 weeks, and we don’t think too much further in advance from that at the moment.

    Hamish is still unwell and sleeping for many hours of the day.

    We had some friends visit recently and they built some planter boxes at our place, and then some other friends organised laying a path and filling the boxes with topsoil It was like a big working bee and now it is all ready for Hamish to plant to his hearts content. Our vegetable plot feels a little far away now so it’s nice to have more plantable spaces at home.

    We have the Queenstown Fundraising event this weekend and the Auckland one next weekend and we are hopeful that Hamish and I will attend both.

    We are both really looking forward to seeing friends and family and having a laugh.

    Lots of love, Jana xx

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  • Ups and downs and up again!

      21 May 2023
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    Hello,

    We thought we’d share little update on what’s happening at the moment.

    Hamish was recently in hospital for a week with side effects from the cancer treatment. The oncologist assured us that even though it was very unpleasant, it was expected, and there was no cause for concern. When asked about the recent scan he said that whilst very early, the tumours are shrinking. Incredible news to receive.

    It has been a bit of a setback going from feeling ok, to very, very rough again, so we are just navigating this.

    I (Jana) have been getting back into work and I opened the doors to my Dinner Club membership this week. It’s been so lovely to welcome new members!

    The kid's sport was in Alexandra & Wanaka this weekend which is unfortunately too far for Hamish to travel at the moment, so he missed Rivers first-ever goal in football, but he is looking forward to a home game of soccer next weekend.

    When we had to drop everything and head to the hospital last week there were many people we felt comfortable calling to help us with the kids and dog etc and we really do feel blessed to have such a beautiful community around us.

    Thank you so much to those near & far

    Jana & Hamish xx

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  • Hamish's health

      7 May 2023
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    Hi friends,

    We just thought we would give you a bit of an update on Hamish’s health. Whilst he has come so so far and we are all amazed at his results, things are still pretty tough.

    Hamish is still taking morphine and antinausea tablets on a regular cycle and top ups for pain and nausea are required some days as well. We were hoping to wean off some of these meds and have realised it is just too soon.

    He sleeps like a cat for around 17 hours a day and gets tired very easily. When he over does it, the next day is hard.

    We went to watch the kids play soccer this morning and unfortunately Hamish was unwell on the way there but managed to watch the games, when we returned home he went to bed, managed some dinner and is sleeping again.

    The whole family is learning how to ‘be’ in our new normal, but we are enjoying doing it together xx Jana & Hamish

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  • Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

      2 May 2023
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    A note from Jana & Hamish:

    We are so humbled to be over halfway to our goal and can’t thank you all enough. This gives our family some breathing space and for that we are extremely grateful to our friends, family and strangers, for your generosity, kindness and support.

    We have just enjoyed a weekend of kids sport and seeing other families in our community. Our cups are full.

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