The Australian government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.
When my husband Michael was diagnosed with lung cancer (he was a non-smoker) we were devastated to find out it had spread to his bones. Here was a very fit man who had never been sick in his life.
He enjoyed telling jokes, was always busy, loved collecting motor bikes and was into Formula One car racing. He grew native flowers for export, ran a successful consultancy business and was always helping other people – in addition to renovating a 100-year-old house. Most of all, he was a loving father.
The prognosis was not good for Michael's type of cancer, and we were told that most people diagnosed with it died within 4 months. The best we could hope for was a year. We fought the cancer for 3 years and 4 months until he passed away, a week after he turned 69.
I was told we couldn't donate his organs, as the risk of someone else getting cancer was too great. Initially, we had not considered the possibility of tissue donation, however I was talking it through with one of the nursing sisters and she said we may be able to donate his eyes. This was a great relief as I was desperately seeking to turn this dreadful negative into a positive.
Arrangements were made soon after he passed away and as a result, he was able to donate his eye tissue.
We later received a letter telling us that Mike's generous and special gift had been used to help 2 people with corneal difficulties. That helped us so much in our recovery process, as we know a small part of him is still out there viewing life through different eyes.
Pay it forward please and consider becoming an organ and tissue donor. If just one person helps another in considering donation, the ripple effect can be enormous.
This is such an important discussion to have and an even greater decision to make.
Susan
