Northlanders Keith Hartley, left, and his son Devon Hartley.
A Whangārei man is on a mission to help his dying father facing the “fight of his life”.
Devon Hartley, 43, choked up when he re-lived a phone call with his dad Keith Hartley in which his “hero” broke the news he had a stage four blood cancer.
“He’s always been that person that will literally give the shirt off his back to help just about anybody,” Devon said.
Father-of-three Keith had been having trouble with a blocked ear for about six months.
The 68-year-old eventually went to an ear, throat and nose specialist which led to further medical tests and then a shock cancer diagnosis in October last year.
“Straight away when you say cancer, you think of the worst,” Devon said.
“There’s no way you cannot think of the worst, but it just came across as, like a, just a kick in the gut so hard that you couldn’t breathe.”
Devon said his usually outgoing dad became very quiet.
“He was trying to deal with everything that was going on because my grandfather passed away from cancer as well.”
The situation was made harder as the family do not know how much time Keith has, Devon explained.
Keith reportedly had two recent close calls while in hospital undergoing stem cell harvesting.
Devon’s mum and Keith’s wife of 48 years, Shelly Anne, called her son, preparing him for the worst.
“I just about completely fell apart on the phone,” he said.
“Dad has always been there, with a big bushy beard and a big heart.”
The next time Devon saw his dad he made the most of the moment.
“You know those big bear hugs that you get that you feel like every bone’s going to break in your body? That’s pretty much what we did.”
Devon described his dad as absolutely devoted to his family.
“He’s always taught me you look after the people that you love.”
Keith had been a navy man. He was a commander in South Africa for 26 years.
He and Shelly Anne had moved about 27 times – four of those to other countries.
Devon said his dad moved the family from South Africa to New Zealand in 1999 so they could grow up somewhere safe.
The couple went from Auckland to Arthur’s Pass to Franz Josef before crossing the Tasman only to return again to call Kerikeri home.
Devon said while seemingly full of adventure, there had been ups and downs. For example, the couple lost their tiny home during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.
“They had to find alternative accommodation in a granny flat because of mum and dad’s age.”
Keith had just had hip replacement surgery too.
A tackle-shop business started by Devon, Keith and another man went awry.
“We’ve been through a lot, a hell of a lot to be honest,” Devon said.
The family continue to endure tough times.
Keith has undergone four cycles of chemotherapy at Whangārei Hospital’s Jim Carney Cancer Centre and one cycle at Auckland City Hospital.
Next month he will travel to Auckland for another round of chemotherapy. There will also be more stem cell harvesting.
Keith said if stem cells are successfully harvested then they will be transplanted into him, during which he will be in isolation for a month.
“My wife has been personally with me every step of the way, having to take all of her leave and sick leave to do this, and soon will be taking unpaid leave when this runs out. And then, we can only be hopeful,” Keith said.
Devon said Shelly Anne has taken almost two-and-a-half months of unpaid leave from her aged-worker role.
“Dad’s used up all of his savings to be down there.”
Devon created a Givealittle page as a way to ease their financial burden. He wanted to help his parents so that Shelly Anne - Keith’s “best friend” - could stay with her husband rather than return to Northland to work.
“One thing I can tell you about my dad is that he’s always willing to help out where he can, but he will never ask for help,” Devon said.
When Keith learned of what his son was doing, he protested, saying they would figure something out.
Devon told his dad that Keith wasn’t asking for help, he was.
“This is for my dad, my father, my role model, my hero,” Devon said.