A young father dying of cancer wrote his little twin girls birthday cards for the next 30 years before he passed 🥺
· Jul 22, 2023 · NottheBee.com

If that headline alone didn't bring a tear to your eye, then I don't know what will.

Indeed a bitter-sweet story...

In 2015, Nick Keenan, from Lindfield, West Sussex, southeast England, was diagnosed with a lesion the size of a tennis ball on the left side of his brain, in the middle of his frontal lobe.

Doctors believed the brain tumor was "slow-growing and had probably been there since he was born."

Nick underwent countless surgeries and procedures, including radiotherapy, infusion, and oral chemotherapy. He was also prescribed cannabinoids and several natural remedies.

According to his wife, Victoria Keenan, who spoke with The Epoch Times, they believed his battle was on the right track, and things were looking up, so they decided to start a family.

We just carried on with life as normal and thought we were winning, which is when we decided to go ahead with IVF. He also managed to support me going through IVF like any good husband would, even though he was going through much bigger things. It was never about him.

He was incredibly strong and went to work every day of his radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which I was inspired by.

They managed to get pregnant and have twin girls, Rose and Sophia, but in December 2019, when the girls were six months old, Nick started to notice that his speech had become slurred.

We contacted the doctor and ended up going back in after Christmas. I'd had a really weird gut feeling that it was going to be our last Christmas and so organized the biggest celebration by inviting everybody to come and stay with us.

The tumor worsened; Nick underwent more treatments and eventually died when the girls were only 17 months old. 😭

Before he passed, Nick continued to console others and spent time writing birthday cards for Rose and Sophia.

He wrote them birthday cards for the next 30 years.

He wanted to be with them in spirit as they celebrated their birthdays without him.

When Nick was first diagnosed, his wife got him a puppy - a miniature dachshund named Poppy. Poppy was always by his side.

And to make a tragic story even worse... Poppy also suffered from a brain tumor and died six months after Nick.

I just couldn't believe it; they were inseparable and I think she was sent to look after him so went with him.

This year, Rose and Sophia turned four, and they were able to open up their birthday cards from their father.

In the card, he told them they'd start school soon and should look after each other.

Seriously it's just too much...

Victoria is now working for the nonprofit Brain Tumour Research and is campaigning to increase research funding and hopes to promote a parliamentary debate.

Brain Tumour Research's aim is to gain governmental recognition of brain tumor research as a crucial priority.

Brain tumors are the biggest cancer killer of children and young people under the age of 40, yet they have received just one percent of the national spend on cancer research since records began in 2002.

Brain cancer is such a complex and difficult cancer to treat and the only way to improve treatment options, or to find a cure, is through research.

She believes the situation is tragic and calls for necessary change.

At least Nick's little girls have something to look forward to from their father for the next 20+ years. Even if it's just a simple card with a drawing and a short and sweet wish, these cards must mean the world to Rose and Sophia.


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