It’s been just over a month since Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch lost his wife and best friend Jill following the long battle she bravely waged against metastatic breast cancer.
It was a battle she fought for 11 years with Crouch by her side every step of the way.
“Jill never hid her cancer battle, she didn’t let it run her life or dictate the way she lived her life, and she did that for as long as she possibly could,” he said.
“Losing someone to cancer is tough, it’s very upsetting, but obviously I am one of hundreds if not thousands who have lost someone.”
It’s for this reason Crouch will join hundreds of others on March 30 for the Terrigal Daffodil Dip, a 400m swim off Terrigal Beach, where participants will wear vintage yellow swim caps depicting daffodils, the symbol of hope.
So far, Crouch has raised almost $1,000 for the Cancer Council.
“Having friends and family around makes it easier and I’ve had enormous support from the community,” he said.
“There’s not a day that goes by that somebody doesn’t comes up to me and say they’re thinking of me – people I don’t even know.
“I’ve got a whole community around me, a very caring community.
“The pain is real and that’s not going to change; you have to learn how to live with it.
“I have good days and bad days – something out of the blue can set me off; it’s a rollercoaster, but it’s okay not to be okay.
“I am keeping busy; Parliament is sitting, so that keeps me busy.
“Everyone has been great; my team is awesome.”
Crouch said as a former swimmer, he will be comfortable doing the swim with the “hundreds of others affected by cancer”.
“I like that it’s a swim, not a race,” he said.
“I will be wearing the yellow swim cap covered in daffodils and looking resplendent, ridiculously awesome.
“I want to thank all those who have already donated.
“All the proceeds go to the Cancer Council here on the Central Coast.”
To sponsor him visit Do It For Cancer – Adam Crouch MP