Father who showered his triplets with love
BRITAIN is full of unsung heroes and heroines who deserve recognition. Here, in our weekly obituary column, the moving and inspirational stories of ordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives, and who died recently, are told by their loved ones . . .
Our Dan was the sixth of 11 children and was funny, naughty, sporty, goodlooking, hardworking and very popular.
He loved playing football with his team and pints in the pub afterwards. He was incredibly houseproud, cooked a great spaghetti bolognese and was an amazing father. But most of all, he was brave.
He was 29 when he had his first seizure while out driving with his new girlfriend, Sarah Wicks. It took months for doctors to diagnose the problem and when they did it was devastating news — a brain tumour.
But Dan wasn’t the sort to give in. He was desperate to live. So as well as undergoing three operations and endless NHS procedures, he researched and embraced alternative therapies: anything that might give him a chance of a normal carefree life with Sarah. A family, even.
So he fought and fought and in 2007 the tumour was removed. Finally, he and Sarah could start making plans.
Three years later she became pregnant. They were going to have the family they had dreamt of. And what a family!
The scan showed not one miracle dot but three — and on May 13, 2011, Jarvis, Joel and Leila were born. From the minute they could walk they were all as footballmad as their father.
Dan adored them. ‘My little people’, he called them. How he and Sarah managed I’ll never know: feeding, changing, trying to snatch sleep. Three babies to look after and all with the shadow of a brain tumour in the background.
But Dan was determined to be there for them — to teach them how to play football, chase them up the stairs at night, download films and dish up popcorn for ‘movie nights’.
For seven years he had his dream. He told them endless jokes and made
them as obsessed with chocolate Krispie cakes, Sunday roasts and Christmas as he was himself.
He showered them with love and laughter and worked hard at whatever job his health would allow — satellite TV engineer, bin man, anything — to provide for them.
In September 2015 he had another seizure. The tumour was back. There were more surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This time they couldn’t stop it. Still he didn’t give up. He had so much to live for.
He researched more alternative therapies, wrote a book to help others (Brain Tumours For Dummys) and spent as much time as possible with his precious family.
He was never self-pitying, self-indulgent or self-centred. Instead, he made people laugh at home, at work and in hospital, even during his final days at the Countess Mountbatten Hospice, in Southampton, when he was bedridden and blind.
Some of his jokes were even published in Viz magazine.
His 40th birthday was his last. He slipped away quietly on January 11, surrounded by his family and friends.
Everybody who knew Dan loved him. They had to use loudspeakers at his funeral service to relay what was said to the 400 mourners outside who couldn’t fit in the crematorium.
We are all so proud of Dan and the difference he made to so many lives. What a life. And what a legacy he left behind. DANIEL CHARLES LEWIS, born March 10, 1977, died January 11, 2018, aged 40.