What began as a typical family day out in Melbourne taking the kids to the aquarium soon turned into something out of a nightmare for the Rose family.
Rosedale born-and-bred father of four Aaron Rose went for his annual MRI in the city following his remission of a rare from of brain cancer nine years ago but wasn’t prepared for the results.
“I wasn’t even going to go,” Peta, Aaron’s wife, said.
“We went down thinking it would be the same as every year. We took the kids to the aquarium in the morning. It has started out as a good day.”
The MRI and clinical review revealed a tumour had regrown in a cavity on the right side of Aaron’s brain, which doctors feared could be stage three or four cancer.
“One minute to be lining up to plan for the rest of your life and have the kids, to pretty much go and fight for your life is a whole 180-degree flip around,” Aaron said.
“It is not what we were expecting nine years on.”
No stranger to brain surgery, Aaron went under the knife again yesterday.
“There is no possible way they can remove all of the cancer,” Peta said.
“There are a lot of unknowns and until we get a diagnosis, we won’t know what is going on.
“If it is grade three, we will just have radiation therapy again, if it is grade four there is chemotherapy … but it is a brain operation, so [it is] guaranteed 12 weeks out of work.
“He is our main breadwinner, and I work casually and we have the four kids.”
Peta said they were trying to keep the kids in routine and maintain a sense of normality, however, Aaron had a big battle ahead.
“This time around he has a lot more fear going into the craniotomy,” she said.
“When you have an awake craniotomy, it is really traumatising, to the point, where he is awake and they cut through the skin and the flap of skin gets folded over his eyes, so he can see his own skin across his eyes.
“It is really emotionally draining, to say the least. It is hard.”
A pressure welder and boilermaker by trade, Aaron is not going down without a fight but admitted it hadn’t been easy.
“It is definitely not fair but you have to make the best out of a bad situation,” he said.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking for me… it feels like the only purpose I have is working and providing for the kids… and to not have that available for me, is going to be a big, big thing
“I’ve got a wonderful fight ahead of me.”
The Rosedale Lions Club will hold a fundraising market on June 2, beginning at 8am, with all proceeds going to the Rose family.
There will be a jumping castle, music through the park and Leo the Lion will be in attendance.
To donate to the Rose family, visit their Facebook page facebook.com/Round2notout/ or their fundraising page chuffed.org/project/aaronrose.
