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WEEKS APART

Dying dad’s heartbreaking letter to unborn daughter telling her, ‘smile each day and grow up dreaming’

A DAD wrote letters to his daughter who he never got to meet, having died of cancer just weeks before her birth.

Scott Ferguson, from Sydney, Australia, was fighting for his life with brain cancer when his wife, Jaymie, got pregnant.

Scott Ferguson, from Sydney, Australia, wrote letters to his unborn daughter, Isla, before he died of brain cancer
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Scott Ferguson, from Sydney, Australia, wrote letters to his unborn daughter, Isla, before he died of brain cancerCredit: Instagram/jaymie.ferguson

He died on March 31 at the age of 33 before his daughter, Isla, was born on April 27.

Scott, who goes by “Fergs” by his family, left notes and videos for all his family knowing that he was close to death.

But he wrote a book for his daughter, who he said he was “fighting so hard to meet”.

In parts given to 7News, the book said: “Grow up dreaming.

“Follow your dreams. You don’t have to live like everyone else.

“Your mum and dad will always be proud and think of you every day.

“We will always be proud of you no matter what you do.

“As long as you smile once every day, everything is going to be OK.

“When you get married, just know that I will be watching and walking you down the aisle.”

Isla was born just a month after her father, Scott, died
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Isla was born just a month after her father, Scott, diedCredit: Instagram: @Jaymie.Ferguson
Scott told Isla to "follow her dreams" in a book written before his death
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Scott told Isla to "follow her dreams" in a book written before his deathCredit: Instagram/jaymie.ferguson

Scott was told he had stage four glioblastoma brain tumour in 2018, an aggressive and fast growing type of cancer.

He collapsed suddenly in a shopping centre and was rushed to hospital not long before docs gave him the devastating diagnosis. 

They said the tumour meant he would only live for a few more years, if he was lucky.

The average time a person glives with a glioblastoma is 12 to 18 months, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.

Scott went on to have two surgeries, 56 sessions of radiation and 10 months of chemotherapy.

Glioblastoma is the most common high grade cancerous primary brain tumour in adults.

The cancer begins in the brain and is often quick to spread.

Glioblastoma has an incidence of 3.21 per 100,000 population, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

There are no known causes of glioblastoma, as is the case with most brain tumours.

The aggressive cancer is difficult to treat and is resistant to treatment, as the cells within the tumour are not all of the same type.

The symptoms can initially be quite non-specific and vary depending on the location of the brain tumor.

But signs may include any of the following:

  • Persistent headaches
  • Double or blurred vision
  • Vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Changes in mood and personality
  • Changes in ability to think and learn
  • New onset of seizures
  • Speech difficulty of gradual onset

The symptoms can get worse very quickly sometimes progressing to unconsciousness.

Scott and Jaymie pictured in the months leading up to Scott's death
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Scott and Jaymie pictured in the months leading up to Scott's deathCredit: Instagram/jaymie.ferguson
Scott slowly lost movement in the left side of his body as a result of the tumour on his brain
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Scott slowly lost movement in the left side of his body as a result of the tumour on his brainCredit: Go Fund me

Doctors were amazed at how he “bounced back” so many times, Jaymie said. 

The couple, who met in 2010, quickly set about making plans to make the most of the rest of Scott’s life.

They married in 2019 and began IVF 10 months later. Jaymie said they were “ecstatic” to find out they were pregnant.

Meanwhile, Scott slowly lost movement in the left side of his body as a result of the tumour on his brain.

He died at home on March 31, three years after his diagnosis.

A “beyond broken” Jaymie said he died “in no pain exactly as he wished” on an Instagram post.

“Throughout this entire journey he was nothing short of incredible; he fought til his very last second never giving up, looking after me and his little girl til the very end,” she wrote online.

“The bravery and courage he showed was like nothing anyone had ever seen before.”

Jaymie gave birth to their daughter Isla on April 27, writing on Instagram that it was one of the "happiest and saddest moments of my entire life".

She later told 7News: “He [Scott] would have been such a great father.

“He was always rubbing my belly and talking to her.

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“It’s really devastating I get to do all this amazing stuff and he is missing out.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up in Scott’s memory and has so far raised more than $31,000 to support his family.

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