On the 18th of December 2011 I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I undertook a full gastrectomy (removal of my stomach) which was followed by many months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In July 2012 scans showed that the cancer had left my body.
Unfortunately on the 1st of December this year the disease returned metastasising in my ovaries and has now spread to my lungs. I have been advised that I don’t have very much more time in this life left and would dearly love to have a collate these memories for my kids.
For some of you this news may come as a shock and I apologise for it is not my intention to shock or sadden anyone. Rather my intention is to create a collection of memories that I am able to share with my beautiful children, Kieren (6) and Paige (4) but I need your help to do this. If you would be kind enough to go to my web site Guest Book and write as little or as much as you like about how we know each other, a funny story … warts and all, it will help my kids understand who I am / was when they are older. If you have photos you could attach that would be great!
If you are able to forward the website on to others I would also appreciate it.
For locals, we will be organising a get together very soon and will place details on the site. Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Leisl Gerdes
…for my family and friends
Hi Leisl, i worked with u at Vivien’s Jewellers blacktown n parra stores, wishing you & your family Love and peace , you were always pleasant to work with , xxxx
Dear Kieren and Paige,
We never had a chance to meet (I think I met you once, Kieren, when you were a baby), but I knew your mother really well in our younger days. We were young girls together and grew up through our 20s and 30s. We were best friends, sisters, sharing dreams, playing dress ups and dancing the night away to 80s music in discos around town. I always remember your mother’s effervescence- she lit up the room wherever she went- she would dance and sing and she had an incredibly artistic eye. Her talent for aesthetics meant that she could beautify a room, a body, any environment, in minutes. They say beauty attracts beauty and your mother certainly did that, often.
The strongest qualities your mother had and these have stayed with me always, are her gentleness- she hated arguing, she was always a peacemaker and a classy one at that. Another quality, and I think her most important one, was her integrity. She would move heaven and earth to achieve what she believed in. She would not be swayed from her true beliefs. She lived true to herself and I admire her most for that.
Having said all this, I know her deepest desire, her greatest dream, was to be your mother. I can see from the photos that she, together with your father, has created a warm, loving family and two perfect little angels. I can also see that you have fulfilled her- she is happy to be your mother and I believe you healed her heart and soul by choosing her as your mother. She loves you so much that I know with absolute certainty that she will watch over you and guide you throughout your lives. When the time comes and you need her, if you’re really still and quiet, you will be able to hear her voice coming from deep inside you and you will know what to do. Her love for you is so strong that it will move through the universe for you.
My family and I wish you and your parents every happiness, strength, courage, peace and most of all, love.
Love from Livia, Lorenzo, Jure,Divna, Ante, Luka, Simon, Mateo and Jaxon.