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![Strength to fight: Sue and Chris Cornish with their children Nicholas, 9, Ben, 11, and Sophie, 7. PICTURE: JEREMY BANNISTER Strength to fight: Sue and Chris Cornish with their children Nicholas, 9, Ben, 11, and Sophie, 7. PICTURE: JEREMY BANNISTER](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/storypad-3423bmaFmvp979XAitgS93q/eed4b3cd-d955-4be2-9050-5f6a8817a978.JPG/r0_11_4003_2876_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
FRIENDS of a terminally ill Ballarat mother are banding together to raise money so she can have more precious time with her family.
For the past three-and-a-half years, Sue Cornish, 42, has battled an inoperable brain tumour.
Life as she knew it changed in November, 2011.
After returning home from a night shift as an emergency nurse at St John of God Hospital, the mother of three suffered a seizure and collapsed in her bedroom.
She was rushed to hospital where it was discovered she had a 20-millimetre tennis-ball shaped mass in the frontal lobe of her brain.
Weeks later, she was diagnosed with a stage four glioblastoma multiforme tumour. She was given just six months to live.
But after three-and-a-half years of intensive medical treatment, including rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and two craniotomies to remove parts of the tumour, Ms Cornish is still fighting.
In a testament to the impact Ms Cornish has made on the lives of those around her, more than 400 people have booked to attend a fundraiser in her honour organised by a group of old high school girlfriends from Loreto.
However Ms Cornish says it is her husband Chris and children Benjamin, 11, Nicholas, 9, and Sophie, 7, that give her the strength to defy the odds.
Ms Cornish said she would not have made it this far without her “rock” Chris by her side.
“He has been my everything,” she said. “I don’t think many people could have been as strong as he has been and he continues to be.
“I feel so overwhelmed and humbled by how many people love and care about me and my family.
“I could have never imagined any of this.”
Mr Cornish said during their darkest moments, the family would sit outside together in the quiet of the night, hold hands and star-gaze.
“There are a lot of family cuddles,” he said.
“There’s a lot of holding hands and just being together as family. For Sue and I, the most important thing is keeping our family all together for as long as we can.”
He said his wife was a strong-willed and selfless person who always put others before herself.
“There were times we asked ourselves, ‘Why Sue?’” he said.
“But then it was the realisation that it’s because Sue wouldn’t let anybody else have it.
“If it was going to be somebody who would have to go through something as hard as this, she’d step up and say, ‘No, it’s me’. I’d swap with her in the drop of a hat, but she wouldn’t let me. That’s the sort of person Sue has always been.”
Mr Cornish said the family had been floored by the generosity of the Ballarat community.
Rarely a day goes by when there isn’t a cooked meal brought over by a friend or family member, and Mr Cornish has returned from hospital trips to find the front lawn has been mowed by the neighbours.
He said the upcoming fundraiser was about showing his children how special their mum was.
“I see how important Sue is to people and how loved she is,” Mr Cornish said.
“But the kids don’t see that on the same scale.
“To have an event like this for their mum will create memories that can’t be replaced.
“Sue is their world. But this is an opportunity for the kids to see what she means to other people.”
Ms Cornish was moved into the Gandarra Palliative Care Unit last week.
It is hoped after another round of chemotherapy she will be able to return home.
The money raised will go towards paying her medical bills and providing care for her at home.
The event will be on Saturday, May 2, from 6pm at the Ballarat Lodge, 613 Main Road, Golden Point.
Tickets are $35 a person and will include a two-course meal, trivia, raffle and an auction.
Bookings are strictly for tables of 10.
For each ticket purchased, $20 will go directly to the Cornish family.
An ANZ bank account has also been set up for the family.
To make a donation, visit any ANZ branch and quote BSB 013516 and account number 395704618.
For more details, search for the “Sue’s Social (and Trivia) Night” page on Facebook.
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au