By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
NICOLE Ryan reckons the Relay For Life saved her dad.
Nicole, the mastermind of the Narre-Cranbourne Relay For Life, is officially stepping down as chairwoman and shared her inspirational story at the fourth annual event over the weekend, held at Casey Fields.
It was just after Christmas about 12 years ago and Nicole’s father, Clive, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In Nicole’s words her dad just “shut down”, he didn’t want to talk about it, and with nowhere left to turn for help, Nicole rang the Cancer Council.
They suggested her family take part in the Casey Cardinia Relay for Life.
“I then told Dad we were doing it and I wanted him to come but he didn’t want to be a part of it,” she said.
“I asked if he could just come up and do one lap, just one lap. I begged him.
“So he arrived that day in a suit and dress shoes, because he’d planned to do just one lap then he was leaving.
“But he walked 40 laps that night – in his suit and dress shoes I might add.”
It was in that moment, as he walked with many others whose lives had been rocked by cancer, that Nicole saw a change in her father – a resilience washed over him.
“I truly believe that’s what made him fight, it changed his whole outlook,” she said.
The fairy-tale didn’t stop there.
Seeking to start up her own cancer fund-raiser Nicole set the wheels in motion to run her own event, and by 2012 the Narre-Cranbourne Relay For Life was started up, with Nicole, her sister, and her dad making up the three-person committee.
Four years on, and now with 15 people on the committee, the event has raised $300,000 for the cancer council, with the 2015 relay currently sitting just shy of $60,000, and counting.
Wiping tears from her eyes on the weekend, Nicole spoke to the crowd of her decision to pass on the chairwoman’s baton to Lorraine Goodwin, and shared how proud she was of what the Narre event had become.
And it all comes back to her dad.
“I think it put life into perspective for him,” she said.
“At that time when you’re first diagnosed, you can’t understand why this is happening, and then you go to an event like the relay and you realise you’re not alone.
“He realised he could do this.”
The Narre-Cranbourne Relay is funded completely by sponsorship from local businesses, and of this Nicole is incredibly proud.
“I hope people can continue to support us,” she said.
Donations are still being taken for the 2015 event, and for those interested in contributing visit http://fundraising.cancer.org.au/site/TR/RelayforLife/CCVIC?fr_id=2173&pg=entry.
