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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Fitzi and Whippo podcast right now.

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Speaker 2: We're about to chat about a very special lady. Ursula

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Speaker 2: is her name. She's a very hard working teachers aide

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Speaker 2: in a support unit at a southern Sydney high school

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Speaker 2: and she's the mother of two boys, Reyese and Marcus.

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Speaker 2: This is a pretty sad story because Ershley has been

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Speaker 2: going through a really difficult time after the loss of

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Speaker 2: her husband, Chris. There've been childhood sweethearts they met twenty

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Speaker 2: seven years ago.

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Speaker 3: Beautiful story, beautiful story. We wanted to give her a

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Speaker 3: call to offer some support this morning. Let's get hers

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Speaker 3: up on the line now, have we got you there?

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Speaker 2: Hi?

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Speaker 4: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Hi?

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Speaker 2: And who's that young man sitting next to you there,

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Speaker 2: Racy Race. We wanted to have a chat to you

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Speaker 2: guys first, because you're an amazing family. We know you've

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Speaker 2: been through so much together and it's been a tough

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Speaker 2: few months for you, Ursula, hasn't it. Yeah?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, Look, unfortunately, you know, my husband, the kid's dad, Chris,

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Speaker 4: was dying nursed with lung cancer in May and then

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Speaker 4: he passed away in July.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, it's been very tough, far.

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Speaker 3: Too quick and far too soon, Ersie like, we also

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Speaker 3: read that. You know, the first sign for him was

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Speaker 3: when he came out of the water and felt some

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Speaker 3: tightness on the chest. Is that correct.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, so he went he went surfing because he you know,

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Speaker 4: he got back in over lockdown to bodyboarding again. He

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Speaker 4: was he was loving it, you know, living his best

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Speaker 4: life going on bodyboarding and working from home.

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Speaker 1: So that was really great.

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Speaker 4: And then he went for a surf and he came

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Speaker 4: home and said, you know, we went I took the

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Speaker 4: kids to sport and he said, oh, you know, I've

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Speaker 4: got my back was really so, my chest was really sore,

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Speaker 4: and you know, I had a shower.

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Speaker 1: I think it's muscular.

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Speaker 4: And he went to the doctor and the doctor said, oh,

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Speaker 4: of course you've got this pain in the chest.

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Speaker 1: You should go to the hospital.

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Speaker 4: I'm pretty sure it's muscular, but just in case, you

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Speaker 4: never know, I've got a duty of care to send

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Speaker 4: you to the hospital. So he went to the hospital

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Speaker 4: and basically from there, you know, he was diagnosed then

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Speaker 4: and yeah, we just couldn't cut a brake. It was

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Speaker 4: just you know, kind of spread all through him. It

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Speaker 4: was very aggressive and it's.

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Speaker 1: Just really yeah, really quick yeah, really really quick.

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Speaker 3: And really awful cursular. Were there any other symptoms now

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Speaker 3: that you know, looking back when he thought about it,

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Speaker 3: that he was ignoring.

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Speaker 4: Look to be honest, I look back and think of

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Speaker 4: that and not really. You know, he played men's cricket himself,

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Speaker 4: and over that summer it was a really hot day though,

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Speaker 4: he was playing cricket, and he was a little bit

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Speaker 4: puffed when he was running. But you know, you think, well,

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Speaker 4: I'm forty four, it's forty degrees. I'm getting a bit older.

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Speaker 4: So you know, he just put it down to the heat.

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Speaker 4: And it's nothing that we would have, I guess investigated

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Speaker 4: or said, oh, let's get to the you know, the

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Speaker 4: hospital or the doctor. I'm feeling puffed when I'm running

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Speaker 4: between the wickets. So not really, no, I would say, no,

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Speaker 4: not really.

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Speaker 2: You guys were childhood sweethearts, is that correct? Men in hot?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah. So we met at good Old nord These.

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Speaker 2: Old NORSEI the original.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, So Christmas seventeen and I was twenty, he was underage,

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Speaker 4: had a fake ID, and we met at at Nordys

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Speaker 4: and yeah, so we met, Yeah, I guess we moved

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Speaker 4: in like two weeks later. We kind of moved in together.

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Speaker 4: And twenty seven years later, yeah, twenty seven years later,

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Speaker 4: here we are.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, so he approached you at the bar or

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Speaker 3: was it the dance floor.

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Speaker 1: The good dance floor? Right?

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Speaker 2: All these yeah, all these were the best I mean,

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Speaker 2: sable bag, all these. But I'd tell you what, there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of memories there for a long mate. How

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Speaker 2: has it been? I mean you cannot prepare yourself for this.

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Speaker 2: How is it? I mean now as a single mother?

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Speaker 2: Has it been really really tough? I mean, obviously you

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Speaker 2: have to stay strong, You've you've got recently next year

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Speaker 2: and Marcus, but have you been going? Mate?

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Speaker 1: Look, it has been really hard.

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Speaker 4: I'm really lucky in regards to I've been had lovely

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Speaker 4: support from We've got a lovely cricket community and lovely

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Speaker 4: AFL community and they have you know, they've helped me

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Speaker 4: and my family. I wouldn't be where we are now

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Speaker 4: without the love and support of our beautiful communities around us.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, good is really hard.

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Speaker 4: And you know the kids they both love their sport

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Speaker 4: and they've you know, they've got really big group dreams.

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Speaker 4: And you know, I said to them, you know, even

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Speaker 4: though we Dad's not here. You know, I don't want

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Speaker 4: them to have to give up on their dreams. So

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Speaker 4: that's something we're working on. And you know, as a

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Speaker 4: single mummod is hard, but I guess you know, you

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Speaker 4: just have to do what you can to make it

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Speaker 4: happen and do the best for your kids, don't you really, Well, it's.

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Speaker 3: Important that you've got the communities there and Reese is

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Speaker 3: there with you and he's a big football supporter as well. Reese,

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Speaker 3: did you see the swanis get up?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: That was amazing.

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Speaker 2: Wasn't this would be amazing?

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Speaker 3: Oh my god? Water game one point through to the

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Speaker 3: Grand Final pursula.

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Speaker 2: We we're just ringing up to tell you guys that

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Speaker 2: we've got you back and we want to look after

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Speaker 2: you guys. So we're just talking about the AFL and

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Speaker 2: the Swans and obviously there's a big game this weekend.

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Speaker 2: We are going to thanks to the AFL, thanks to

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Speaker 2: what If, and thanks to the Sydney Swans, we're going

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Speaker 2: to send you and the boys down to the AFL

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Speaker 2: Grand Final this week to watch this one.

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Speaker 3: Go.

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Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, that's amazing.

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Speaker 2: These wow, let me tell you these tickets are so

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Speaker 2: hard to find, but the AFL and the Swans when

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Speaker 2: they heard about your story.

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Speaker 1: Oh wow, thank you.

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Speaker 2: They had to get involved. And you, guys, I think

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Speaker 2: you need to take your mind off things a little bit. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: and you need to get down there and enjoy yourself

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Speaker 2: and experience one hundred thousand people. Robbie Williams is player.

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Speaker 2: You might be able to give a wow, get on

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Speaker 2: stage and give him a kiss at some stage.

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Speaker 1: But you never know, you never know.

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Speaker 3: It's a big city. So we've got your flight's your accommodation.

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Speaker 3: Of course, we need to mention Marcus is at school.

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Speaker 3: He's fifteen years old. Obviously, the three of you are

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Speaker 3: going to make the trip down and celebrate one of

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Speaker 3: the greatest sporting moments ever.

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Speaker 1: Oh thank you. That's so awesome.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that wow.

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Speaker 2: Andshula just before you go as well. We know you're

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Speaker 2: doing it a bit tough. We want to give you

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Speaker 2: five thousand dollars as well, just to speak God.

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Speaker 1: Well, thank you. That's so lovely, much appreciated. Thank you

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Speaker 1: so much.

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Speaker 2: You are a very stoic woman. We know how hard

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Speaker 2: for you to get that news so quickly, and to

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Speaker 2: lose Chris so quickly, and to you know, act courageous

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Speaker 2: and brave around you too, boys, you're a very courageous

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Speaker 2: woman and we just want.

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Speaker 1: To saying thank you so much. That's so wonderful. Thank

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Speaker 1: you to everyone that's really lovely.

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Speaker 3: No, big thank you to Daniel Finch Finchy in the

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Speaker 3: team at what If you know, they're always behind, they're

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Speaker 3: behind the flights and the accommodation, helping out and making

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Speaker 3: this special weekend come true.

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Speaker 1: Oh thank you. That's great.

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Speaker 2: Well enjoy and you're going to have to give us

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Speaker 2: an update. Hopefully it's a nice tight game and the

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Speaker 2: Swans get up.

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Speaker 1: We will will definitely give you guys an update.

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Speaker 3: Thank you so much on the best weekend.

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Speaker 1: Thanks you're listening to the Fitz and whipp A Podcast.