Beggsy’s Buggered Gut Recovery Plan

Friends, compadres, hommies and Bros

This is a shout out to all those who know and love Paul, I hope you can help Paul and his family as they continue to help Paul with his recovery from Bile Duct Cancer. Paul is doing it tough on many levels of which there is not a lot most of us can help with, however, Paul is unable to work and is under financial stress, this we can assist with. I am reaching out for an a old mate and hope we can all assist with any donations so Paul can focus on his recovery with less stress.

As many of you know Paul took a trip to Europe last year and didn’t come home for a very long time due to what was at the time an unconfirmed medical issue. It was a very stressful time for Paul being away from family and friends but in true Beggsy spirit he hung in there, got sufficiently well and got himself home.

Once home, Paul was able to better engage with the issue and with the input of specialists here in Sydney identify the cause. Unfortunately Paul was diagnosed with cancer, this had manifested itself in his Bile Duct and did not leave many options for a cure. Paul elected to undergo an incredibly invasive procedure to remove not only the growth on his Bile Duct but in fact the entire Duct. This procedure is known as the 'Whipple Procedure' (yes, Whipple) and although a well know procedure it is both risky and arduous, the immediate post-surgery recovery is very demanding on the patient and there are long-term effects but Paul just can’t be sure of these at present.

Essentially Paul has had to undergo a procedure of organ removal and modification in order to allow surgeons to access the cancer. This was not made easy by an unexpected infection which has seen Paul spend many weeks in hospital prior to the procedure. Paul has now had the operation and for those of us who have discussed this with him you know it was heavy and it is a credit to Paul's amazing spirit and personality that he made it through not just physically but mentally.

Paul is now at his home and making slow steps with his recovery. As before, this surgery is incredibly invasive, it has long-term lifestyle impact and the recovery is very slow. Paul is limited in what he can do, what he can eat and needs to avoid stress of all kinds. Unfortunately Paul now faces a program of chemotherapy to rid his body of the cancer entirely, put simply, the road is still long.

Paul is self-employed, and since the issue arose in Europe in October 2016 Paul has been unable to work. Paul has had amazing support from his family and mates, I know he is humbled by this and treasures all those around him.

Recently Paul mentioned to me that he may need to sell his house for financial and stress reasons, this for me was a call to arms. Paul's house is not just his home, it’s his heart, a handcrafted work of art and loosing that part of his soul would be a terrible loss on top of what he is already dealing with. So again, I reach out to all the Beggsy lovers and ask for some support. We are not asking too much, we want to keep it practical and believe if we can raise $2000.00 a month for the next six months that this will allow Paul time to get back on his feet.

I’m making the first donation and I look forward to seeing what I know will be an outpouring of love from all, please share this on your social media.

So come on, Let’s Make Paul Great Again.