Tragic update from wife of terminally ill veteran
A Queensland man whose battle with terminal cancer saw Wiggles star Anthony Field commit an act of kindness has died at the age of 30.
Brendan Nikolajew, an army veteran who served in Afghanistan, had been fighting cancer on-and-off for more than three years after a small lump was discovered on one of his testicles.
He was recently given the devastating news that he had weeks to live and on Tuesday, his wife Leah shared a tragic update.
“To all our beautiful friends and family, it breaks my heart to let you all know that my beautiful husband passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I held him close and lay next to him until his last breath. I made sure he knew how loved he was by everyone who knew him.
“The last few days of his life were extremely hard for him as he struggled to breathe and was quite confused, he fought right to the end and did not want to leave but eventually made the decision to finally be at peace and watch us from the stars.”
Leah said her “little family” were “absolutely broken” after his passing and “still can’t imagine how we are going to continue on in this life without our sun and moon and our rock”.
“He lived life to the fullest and loved the people around so bloody hard and I am proud to be his wife,” Leah continued.
“I hope we can all keep his memory alive by never giving up and living our life with Brendan’s ferocity and passion.
“Thank you all for the beautiful kind messages of love.”
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, who previously pledged to donate the royalties from the group’s new album to Brendan’s wife and children, shared his own tribute to Brendan.
“Rest in Peace Brendan,” he wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of the veteran with his family.
Image: brendans.cancer.fight / Instagram