Linda’s Story

Hi Sheree,

Andrew Peter was born in Perth, Western Australia on 25th February 1984. My first precious child. We left Perth when Andrew was 3 and took him to visit his grandparents in Tasmania. We then travelled to Brisbane. In 1989, June 27, Andrew’s brother Matthew arrived. We bought a house on acreage at Delaneys Creek where the boys grew up, riding horses, helping on the hobby farm.

Andrew went to Tullawong High School and left at the end of year ten. He knew from age 9 he wanted to be a chef – watched cooking shows all the time. He would help out at Morgan’s Seafood on weekends and eventually they gave him an apprenticeship. Andrew was doing his bakery side to his job and had just turned 20 and had only 6 months before he was a qualified chef. All that hard work and long shifts had paid off.

But then he had a dizzy spell and fell down at work and cut his head, so I took him to the doctors and that’s when they found the tumour on his brain. That was February 2004. He was put in hospital and had his 1st op on his brain to reduce the size of the tumour. He was strong and pulled through. Then he started 6 weeks of daily radiation treatment on his head. He hated this on the first day and didn’t want to finish but he did. He did it for me.

Things went well for a few years. The radiation had stunted the growth. We had follow up MRI every six months. Andrew couldn’t go back to working in the kitchen so he left his apprenticeship. It was too dangerous. He was having seizures and was on medication daily.

After a year he went concreting with his brother and stepdad. They looked after him onsite. The years went by and we tried to take Andrew to as many places as we could and he experienced life. After all, he was told he would only last 6 or 7 years at the most. We moved to Mackay for a change of scenery and for John’s work.

Andrew’s seizures were getting bad and he wasn’t well in October 2009 so it was back to the hospital in Mackay and he was flown to Brisbane via Royal Flying Doctor Service for another op to reduce the size of the tumour. Another long operation and worrying about the effects after digging around in his brain. All went well and we went back home to Mackay. We had our photos taken in the November of that year if I remember.

That’s when we met you, a kind compassionate beautiful person who actually cared about Andrew and talked with him. He was always so happy and so selfless. We had Xmas on my 50th birthday. Andrew was deteriorating and was having such bad seizures in February 2010 he was flown by RFDS back to Brisbane for yet another operation. Before each operation we had to say goodbye. This was the third time.

This operation left Andrew paralysed on the left hand side. It was heartbreaking, watching him. His head was practically opened up. He just lay there for weeks. Eventually he was flown via RFDS to Mackay to rehab. Weeks and weeks of therapy and then he could come home.

We all looked after Andrew. His brother Matthew gave up his job in Brisbane to live with us in Mackay and to be Andrew’s full time carer. He needed full time care, helping him dress, feed, bath, toilet.

After his second op Andrew and I were going on a cruise. The cruise sailed in February 2010 while Andrew was being operated on for the third time. So he missed out on that. It was his dream.

Long months of therapy continued so Matthew would take him to that. He seemed to go ok and then was on chemo. It seemed to be working. Then they told him he had only 6 weeks to live.

Any questions? they asked him. . . He just looked at me and Matthew and then asked, Will it hurt when I die?

That’s when my whole world fell apart. He lasted 6 weeks, then he passed away in hospital with me by his side. His brain cancer had grown so big and so fast that it had pushed his brain through the back of his skull.

He will be by me in spirit each and every day. He was the bravest most selfless person I had ever met. He never complained once. After his last op he woke up and realised he was paralysed. He looked at me with a tear rolling down his face and said, Sorry Mum, no more please.

I remember when you met him in hospital, Sheree, and you met his grandparents. That was such a beautiful thing you did. We never asked anyone for help. We did it on our own. We all had to be strong for each other. I as a mother will never be the same. No mother should ever have to bury her son. Brain cancer is a terrible thing for anyone to have to go through. We battled through as a family. There are so many other bad times he had over the years but I hope this little bit helps.

I sit here typing this with tears in my eyes and his face in my memory, and remember him as the bravest most gentle person I will ever know. Matthew is married now and has a little girl who will be one on 29th July 2015. He named her Matilda Rose. His wife’s name is Jaimi.

They have brought back light into my life with their beautiful little girl. Andrew would have adored her and I am sure he is always watching over us all.

Thank you Sheree for keeping Andrew’s memory alive.

Linda xx