When Kelmscott man Jason Rule was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer in 2010, it began what his wife said were five years of hell.
Mr Rule, or Jiver – a name given because of his happy-go-lucky attitude – moved to the Kelmscott hills in the mid-1980s with his wife, and later started his business Wedgetail Motorcycles on Gillam Drive.
In 2010 Jiver’s and his family’s lives were thrown upside down when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone-destroying plasma cell cancer.
In only five years Jiver lost his battle with the rare disease, leaving behind his wife Kay and their family.
It was an experience Mrs Rule said exhausted the whole family.
“He was on chemo for five years, only having a week off each month before he was thrown back into it,” she said.
Cancerous myeloma cells create tumours which secrete chemicals that destroy calcium.
If it cannot be stopped, bones gradually become weaker, and are eventually prone to breaking.
Mrs Rule said despite his illness, Jiver always tried to look his best for his family, and never let the disease get him down in front of them.
She said his life was dedicated to two things – his family and his motorbikes.
As tribute to her husband and in an effort to help others who have been in the same situation, Mrs Rule and her family have organised a Leukaemia Foundation-supported charity fundraiser ride and drive from the Narrogin Inn in Armadale to the Ravenswood Hotel next month.
She said three years after his death it was still hard knowing she would not be able to ride pillion on his Harley Davidson softail with him, but she wanted to use his memory to create positive change.
“We’re hoping to help other families out there going through the same thing,” she said.
“He had lots of friends, everybody knew him and he’d give us the world if he could – he was a genuine guy.”
The Ride for Multiple Myeloma will be held on April 8, starting at the Narrogin Inn at 10am, and will include a fundraiser raffle with prizes donated from local leather goods and motorcycle stores, and a Fremantle tattoo parlour.
A donation of $10 per rider on the day was asked, which will go to support Leukaemia Foundation research into myeloma, and could be made on the day or at letsfundraise.everydayhero.com/au/ride-for-multiple-myeloma.
