SWB is very grateful to the family of Wes Crooke, who have established the Wes Crooke Scholarship / Endowment Fund. Wes’ partner, Tracey, has provided some information about Wes and why the family wished to support SWB through this fantastic legacy:
Wes Crooke, 14 Jan 1977 to 26 June 2014
Wes Crooke was a warm and loving soul, with a unique perspective of the world. His cheeky, quirky behaviour and abstract words used in completely unrelated contexts made him a joyfully contagious person to be around. Popular and very loved.
His strength and determination along with his natural irreverence, by chance led him to be the Number one Australian Springboard Diver several years running, for his age group. Overall winning countless competitions. His competitive nature was second to his sense of fun and community. Those meeting him later in life would never realize just how good he was, as he was also incredibly modest.
Wes travelled extensively around the world and always showed great understanding, acceptance, interest and empathy to those living in third world countries. For Wes, beauty was not superficial, but found more in the depth of the eyes, the life story and the weathering of the face.
Wes’s determination was evident in his fight with brain cancer. His first battle lasting two years and second 11 months. True to his spirit he continued to take chances and enjoy life as much as he could. He never once said “why me?” His fierce determination and focus never allowed anyone else to place their pity on him. Rather he would comment loudly ‘Aren’t we lucky’.
Wes fathered two beautiful boys, Liam and Finn, with his partner. They were two and three years old when he passed away. It is for his boys who struggle to understand why dad can’t come home, that we hope to continue his legacy with the Wes Crooke Scholarship/ Endowment.
Kate Drummond, who had been Wes’ most respected Neurosurgeon and a volunteer with Specialist Without Borders, highlighted in a newspaper article in the Herald Sun, that it is a first world privilege to be able to prolong life. Most people in third world countries don’t even have basic medical support, let alone access to treatment for Cancer. We would like to therefore support the volunteers within the SWB team in making change to the world, in line with the Millennium Development Goals
We also hope to raise awareness about brain cancer, its symptoms, its challenges, its complexities and changing nature. To bring to light the massive support and understanding needed for those fighting it and for those caring for others. We hope to support other families dealing with the unknown, the fear, the changes and the enormity of this journey. Particularly those with young families such as ours.
You can contribute to this fund here.