On Saturday, 4th June, a ‘bucket list’ wish came true for terminally ill Denzil Stander, fiancé to Natalie Dawson and a ‘most wonderful, kind and generous man’. Denzil, age 45, has been living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and temporal lobe glioblastoma (brain tumour) for most of his adult life.
“In March 2022, we were told to work on 6 months. How do you fit a lifetime of future dreams and plans into this short timeframe? The answer, you can’t. But I can do the best I can with my resources to make as many of Denzil’s dreams come true before it is too late. Denzil has lived a really hard life and has dealt with more trauma than most of us ever have to face. He is a wonderful, kind and generous person and with the time left I would like to help him fulfil some of his bucket list items.” – Natalie.
Denzil ticked off his wish to fly in a helicopter on Sunday due to the love and determination of his fiancé Natalie who is helping him realise his bucket wishes. Rocket pilot Craig Coleman and paramedic Chris de Beer (accompanied him to ensure his wellbeing during the flight) were honoured to be there with Denzil to realise this experience.
It was our privilege, Natalie and Denzil, to have been a small part of your ‘bucket wish list’ journey together.