‘All in for Alex’ passes $1,000,000 in donations via 9News & Daily Mail Australia
https://www.mycause.com.au/page/84491/all-in-for-alex
Australians have donated more than $1 million to help a struggling Sydney family with a blind dad and mother fighting terminal stomach cancer.
The Piper family’s story was aired on A Current Affair less than a month ago, and in that time the Australian public has come together to help ease the family’s financial burden in a big way.
“It doesn't even feel real, it's like a dream,” Ms Piper told A Current Affair.
“It's nice to think I've got something to look forward to, some joy, instead of being in pain and not feeling well. I have something else to focus on.”
Matt and Alex Piper met as teenagers and began dating 21 years ago, but just two years into their marriage, Matt lost his sight in both eyes and was declared 100 percent legally blind. He then suffered nerve damage in his hands, making him unable to continue work as a masseuse.
In 2010, the family from the northern beaches was dealt another heavy blow when Ms Piper, now 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer. A year later, the cancer was picked up in Ms Piper’s bones, and has now spread to her stomach.
The mother-of-three, Charley, 13, Honey, 10, and Willow, 5, is the family’s main breadwinner because of her husband’s disability, but having been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer, Ms Piper has been forced to stop working.
With medical bills piling up and a big mortgage, family members decided to set up a MyCause and Facebook page asking the public for help.
The response has been phenomenal, going well beyond the initial goal of $250,000.
Family member Andrew Fraser has been coordinating the website, phone and cheque donations to the Piper family.
“At the end of each month MyCause puts the money straight into Alex's account and of course we have the offline donations, the cheques from your viewers direct to Alex and they're deposited straight into her account and we upload them into the MyCause total,” Mr Fraser told A Current Affair.
The family is more than grateful.
“We're just one small story, everyone has a story, we're just one of them, and we are just so appreciative of everything, the generosity and the money that is there to further Alex's future in life and hope it's going to be worthwhile,” Mr Piper said.
And all the support has since spurred Mr Piper to try his luck back in the work force.
“I thought it's a good opportunity now to put myself out there and I'm looking for a job,” My Piper said.
But he's not yet sure what type of job he would be taking on.
“That's a very good question, because it is hard, it is I guess something on computers since I'm blind, that's the way inclined for me but I'll give anything a go.”
- The Piper family of NSW have thanked the Australian public for their generous donations
- Matt Piper lost his vision 16 years ago and has never seen his three kids
- His wife, Alex, took on the role of family breadwinner and continued to work through the last four years of her cancer diagnosis
- The Piper family have taken to the public to ask for assistance after Alex was forced to quit her job due to her intensified cancer treatment
- Almost $370,000 has been raised online so far to help the family of five
A struggling mother-of-three, who is battling terminal cancer, and her blind husband have received $1 million of donations after appealing to the Australian public for financial aid.
The couple who first appeared on A Current Affair last month, have thanked the generous donors who have brought some joy into the lives of the Piper family.
Alex Piper's husband suddenly became blind in both eyes 16 years ago and the mother-of-three did not hesitate to take on the role of the family breadwinner.
Then, four years ago when the now 41-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer, Alex maintained her job throughout months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy while barely uttering a murmur of complaint.
After being diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer and dropping down to a mere 41 kilograms, the Piper family from NSW called out for help by taking their story of struggle and survival to the public.
'It doesn't even feel real, it's like a dream,' Ms Piper told A Current Affair on Monday.
'It's nice to think I've got something to look forward to, some joy, instead of being in pain and not feeling well. I have something else to focus on.'
'We are just so appreciative of everything, the generosity and the money that is there to further Alex's future in life and hope it's going to be worthwhile,' Mr Piper said.
Alex and her husband Matt first met as teenagers before they finally began dating at 21 years of age.
Only two years after the duo married, things took a turn for the worse when Matt lost his eyesight and was declared legally blind.
Further damage to the nerves in his hands and arms rendered him unable to pursue a career as a masseuse, but the father of three - Charley, 13, Honey, 10, and Willow, 5 - admits the hardest thing about his condition is having never seen his children.
'It hurt hard. My heart was broken for a very long time,' Matt told A Current Affair last month.
'To overcome that - I feel and touch now. I've been blind for 16 years now.'
'I saw Alex walking down the aisle and that picture I still have a strong image of in my mind.'
Alex was forced to provide for her family solely on her own, but things took a turn for the worst when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2010.
Despite the emotional and physical demands of the disease, the 41-year-old continued to go to work each day, even after the cancer was found to have spread to her bones and stomach a year later.
'I only had two weeks off work. I did radiation and chemotherapy and I worked the whole way through and I wish I'd taken time for myself,' Alex said.
She was finally forced to leave her career behind three weeks ago, but despite being drained of all energy and appetite and being told by doctors that there is no cure for her illness, Alex still holds hope.
'The doctors have their views on what's possible and what's not possible, but I like to have my own views,' she said.
So far, more than $1,002 has been donated to help the Piper family after Alex's aunt, Amanda Fraser, took to MyCause.com to share her niece's story.
'The strain is starting to show, hence our call to arms with this campaign, as we've finally convinced Alex to let us try and assist,' Ms Fraser wrote.
'She is a fighter, she is positive… but Alex can no longer cope with the struggles of bringing up a young family and loss of income.
'The much needed funding that we raise, will be utilised to both ease the financial burden on the family, help to cover the mortgage and allow us to continue to try and find the best and most innovative treatments possible.'
See the record breaking campaign HERE.