Foster family live life to the full

TOGETHER: Tori, Jacob, 5, and Benjamin Foster, 7, are happy to have their father and husband Rob, who didn't want to be photographed, with them for Christmas.PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

It's been a hard year for the Fosters, but they're just happy their father and husband is here to enjoy it with them.

Rob Foster was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer last year and was given five weeks to live. Fourteen months later, he's still here.

The Bay of Plenty Times met with the Foster family in June after their entire winter supply of firewood was stolen from their shed while they were on a trip overseas, kindly donated by an anonymous supporter of the family.

The Tauranga community rallied around the Fosters after reading about their plight and the family were inundated with offers of help from all over the country and even as far away as China.

The family now has enough firewood to last them through to the end of next winter.

Mr Foster has made it through a number of milestones since the story ran, including making it to son Jacob's first day of school. "I'm still here, that sums it up really," he said.

His next goal is to make it through a family vacation to the Coromandel in January.

"When I wake up in the morning now, it's like yay it's a new day. When I go to bed at night I think it's another day I've seen and another day that's completed. I'm really grateful for what I have now.

"I only found out about a month ago that I will never go into remission and that really threw me for a couple of days. I always thought, maybe there's a chance I could go into remission but that's not going to happen."

Mr Foster said the response the family got from the public when their firewood was stolen was "overwhelming" and he had made a New Year's resolution to get better at expressing his gratitude.

"I'm really, really grateful and thankful that I'm supported not only by my family but by the community. "