All in for Alex & Matt Piper via A Current Affair, Channel 9 News, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail Australia & The Australian
A Current Affair Story: All in for Alex & Matt Piper
ALMOST $500,000 has been raised for a northern beaches family struggling with a father declared legally blind and a mother battling terminal stomach cancer.
The Piper family from Sydney’s northern beaches made a public appeal for help last night on A Current Affair which saw the program’s website crash.
Matt and Alex Piper began dating 21 years ago having met as teenagers. Just two years into their marriage Matt lost the sight in both eyes and was declared legally blind. He then suffered nerve damage in his hands resulting in the inability to work as a masseuse.
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Fours years later more hardship was heaped on the family when Alex was diagnosed with breast cancer. It has now spread to her stomach and seen her waste away to just 41kg.
The mother to three children, Charley, 13, Honey, 10, and Willow, 5, however continued to work throughout the course of her radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment to support.
Alex told A Current Affair she only had two weeks off during that time.
“I did radiation and chemotherapy and I worked the whole way through and I wish I’d taken time for myself,’ she said.
Three weeks ago Alex was delivered the heartbreaking news that there was no cure. She was also forced to stop working. But despite the hammer blow she has remained positive.
‘The doctors have their views on what’s possible and what’s not possible, but I like to have my own views,’ she said.
Now a fundraising drive is in fully swing to help the family, led by Alex’s aunt Amanda Fraser.
‘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 on the mycause website.
‘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.’
To date more than $478,000 has been raised.
If you want to contribute to the Piper family, visit their MyCause page.
Channel 9 News Story: Aussie family reaches out amid toughest battle
The Piper family has been given more than its fair share of challenges in the recent past, but now the NSW family-of-five is facing its toughest battle yet.
Matt Piper is 100 percent legally blind, having lost his sight just two years after marrying his wife, Alex. Despite the setback, the couple went on to have three healthy children; Charley, 13, Honey, 10, and Willow, 5.
But in 2010, the family was dealt another heavy blow as Alex, now 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She had a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but the cancer didn’t completely disappear.
Just a year later it was picked up in Alex’s bones, and has since spread further to her stomach. She’s been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer, but despite the prognosis, Ms Piper is keeping positive.
For more information on how you can make a donation to the Piper family, visit the A Current Affair website.
“The doctors have their views on what's possible and what's not possible but I like to have my own views,” she told A Current Affair.
“I think anything is possible.”
The Piper family are fighters.
Mr Piper didn’t want blindness to stop him from providing for his family. He trained for four years to be a massage therapist, but lost the use of his hands and arms after damaging his nerves.
He hasn’t given up, and has taken up a computer course.
But it did mean that his wife had to take on the responsibility of being the breadwinner, and she incredibly worked through two bouts of cancer.
Now she’s unable to go on.
Having recently commenced a 12-week chemotherapy program, and weighing only 41kg, a family friend came up with the idea of setting up a fund to help the Piper family.
“I never wanted anyone to know my business,” Ms Piper said.
But with no income, a huge mortgage and mounting medical bills, Ms Piper and the family has turned to the generosity of others for help.
The Piper children, like their parents, are keeping strong.
“They've been through a lot and they're still going and still looking after us,” eldest son, Charley said.
“And they're doing a pretty good job.”
- 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 quite her job due to her intensified cancer treatment
- Almost $370,000 has been raised online so far to help the family of five
When Alex Piper's husband suddenly became blind in both eyes 16 years ago, 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.
Now, after being diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer and dropping down to a mere 41 kilograms, the Piper family from New South Wales are finally calling out for help by taking their story of struggle and survival to the public.
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.
'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, almost $370,000 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.'
- Alex Piper has stage 4 cancer and husband Matt is legally blind
- Couple were struggling to provide for future of their young children
- Alex finally able to focus on battling cancer instead of paying bills
A MOTHER who has been told she has incurable cancer and her husband who is blind want to thank the public from the bottom of their hearts for coming to their rescue when they most needed it.
Alex Piper, 41, and her husband Matt, 44, who have three children, Charlie, 13, Honey , 10 and Willow, 5, have been totally overwhelmed by the local community who have helped raise more than $780,000 in just 10 days to help pay off their mortgage and fund treatment.
“The money is for the kids,” said Mrs Piper, from Collaroy Plateau, who is battling stage 4 stomach cancer.
“I want them to feel safe and secure no matter what happens.
“It has also given them some hope now that I might be able to look at seeking other treatments I would not have been able to afford before.”
Mr Piper, said his wife was a “beautiful, soulful, natural person” who could now concentrate on battling cancer, instead of worrying about providing for the family.
“Paying the mortgage was a terrible stress for her and now she doesn’t have to worry,” he said.
“Alex and I want to express our gratitude to the northern beaches community.
“We want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts. The level of support has been overwhelming.”
Mrs Piper became the main breadwinner when her husband lost the sight in both eyes just two years after they married, when he was just 29.
Doctors diagnosed Mr Piper with panuveitis, which causes inflammation of the retina, but were unable to tell him what had caused it.
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Despite his devastating disability, the couple went on to have three beautiful children, but he has never seen their faces.
When Mrs Piper was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 it was another terrible blow for the family, but with her job paying the mortgage, she felt compelled to continue her work for a legal company despite undergoing a mastectomy and months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Having believed she was in remission it was a shock to recently discover the cancer had returned in her bones and stomach and that there was no cure.
Weighing just 41 kilos and on her fourth round of chemotherapy, she has now stopped working because she is too ill.
With a huge mortgage and bills to pay, her uncle Andrew Fraser, 51, also of Collaroy Plateau, persuaded her to set up a Facebook campaign, saying that the family who were “quiet, humble, unassuming people,” had been dealt “crap cards”, and didn’t deserve to suffer this much.
With the help of social media and after their story was aired on A Current Affair on Monday night, Thousands of people have donated and left messages of support.
Mrs Piper said she the messages, some from old Davidson school friends she has not seen for years, and others from people who also have cancer, were inspirational and that she had read every single one.
“I have felt like things were getting on top of me,” said Mrs Piper.
“People’s messages have really lifted my spirits – they’ve really made a difference.”
The social media buzz...
To Support, see the campaign here.