I found out that my dad’s ‘cold’ would kill him. Nothing could have prepared me for losing him so young, but there is one thing I wish I had done differently.

Meredith Jamieson’s world was shattered when she discovered her father was dying.

The ‘family-oriented’ man was 59 years old when he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in November 2020 after falling ill with what doctors initially thought was just a cold.

As his condition rapidly deteriorated, Meredith watched helplessly as her father went from a “kind-hearted man who was the family joker” to “losing his life before her eyes.”

“I felt disbelief, but then sadness and pain hit me,” Meredith, 20, told FEMAIL.

‘Sadness at why it was our family that had to go through this, and how soon we would no longer have Dad in our lives and grief at the loss of a future life we ​​could have had and how our whole life would change. ‘

Just six months later, his father died after “taking his last breath” at home in May 2021, surrounded by his distraught wife and children.

“I remember my sister running into my room, telling me to go to Dad quickly because it was my last chance to talk to him and he was fading fast,” Meredith said.

“I was in disbelief at the fact that dad was going to pass away and I would never see him again.”

He was 59 years old when he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in November 2020 (pictured with his wife, who is Meredith’s mother).

Long before his sudden death, the family of seven was living a seemingly normal life in Tasmania.

When his father couldn’t shake his cold after two weeks, he decided to see a GP where he underwent several tests, including blood tests.

“For the next two weeks, Dad was more tired than usual, but otherwise seemed normal,” Meredith recalled.

During that time, the high school student was preparing for her Year 10 prom, a celebration traditionally shared with parents.

But when her father’s condition progressively worsened, he ended up missing the dance, leaving her devastated.

“At the time, we didn’t know he had cancer,” Meredith explained.

“So when he got sick and was too sick to stand for long periods of time, I was worried, but at the same time I was disappointed.

‘Dad attended my three older sisters’ dinners and I felt like he was missing out on that big event of my school years. The disappointment and sadness increased a little more when, when taking photographs, I saw many families with both parents and I had a mother.’

His father died six months after being diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain cancer.

However, he realized his condition was much worse when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer.

“The prognosis was that this type of cancer is extremely rare and always terminal and has no known causes,” Meredith explained.

Most people diagnosed with glioblastoma have an average life expectancy of six to 18 months.

Just a month after his diagnosis, he was taken to the nearest hospital, about an hour away, after he woke up “extremely lethargic, slurred, and unable to walk properly” one morning in December 2020.

During a CT scan, he suffered a life-threatening seizure on the table and was quickly airlifted to the state’s level one trauma care hospital.

His diagnosis meant the family had to move to Victoria to be closer to the hospital for his cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation.

“During treatment, my family packed up the house so we could move closer to family support,” Meredith said.

The family spent quality time together before their father lost his fight to cancer.

Due to strict Covid lockdown restrictions, hospital visits were difficult, so Meredith’s mother and older sister took turns staying with her father in hospital.

The family of seven struggled to find a suitable home to accommodate them, so they were forced to separate and Meredith’s older siblings lived interstate.

“As the cancer worsened, Dad lost many of his abilities and needed 24/7 care from at least two people,” she said.

“After the seizure, Dad struggled with dysphasia and soon completely lost the ability to speak.”

Closing signs

Over the next few months, his father’s condition “deteriorated rapidly.”

‘He was becoming disinterested in almost everything and losing life in his eyes. He became a shell of his former self,” Meredith recalled.

‘In the last month of his life he stopped responding to everything that was happening around him. In recent days he was unable to consume solid food and spent most of his time asleep, and his body showed clear signs of shutting down.

Meredith with dad at the hospital. He spent six months in and out of the hospital receiving treatment.

Meredith was just 17 years old when her father lost his fight to cancer in May 2021.

He took his last breath just a week after the family had finally settled into their new home.

Nothing could have prepared her for that heartbreaking moment, but there was one thing she wished she had done differently before her father died.

“I definitely wish I had spent more time with him, especially in his final days,” she said.

‘In a way I avoided him if I could because seeing dad so helpless and sick made me want to keep the strong and happy man he was in my memories.

‘My regret’

“I regret not taking the time to sit with him and tell him about my days, or just talk to him and tell him I loved him,” she said.

The hardest part for Meredith has been living without the great support her father previously provided her, as well as going through various life stages and accomplishments without him by her side.

To cope with the pain, she spends important moments in her bedroom, listening to a playlist she created and taking time for herself.

After his father’s death, he founded Canteen, an Australian cancer support charity that helps young people affected by cancer.

Meredith’s parents together during her final months.

Meredith, who is now a national ambassador for Canteen handkerchief dayHe said he was able to receive free counseling, attend their youth events and meet people who had been through similar situations.

With their support, Meredith re-enrolled in school and is currently completing her VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) online, hoping to become an architect.

Find support

By sharing her story about her father’s cancer, she hopes to raise awareness and highlight the incredible support she received during a difficult time in her life.

“I hope that if my story can help at least one person know how to find support during their own experience with cancer, then I think I will have achieved my goal,” she said.

‘What I want everyone to remember is that they have support around them and they should always reach out if they need help.

‘Spend time with your loved ones, like I wish I had with my dad. Not all of them will always be present and can be captured in a split second.’