Emily Scolyer feels overwhelming gratitude for the 22 years of unwavering love and support she had from her father, Richard Scolyer.
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she → feel → father
The cancer researcher and former Australian of the Year died in June after a courageous battle with glioblastoma.
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researcher → die → glioblastoma
Emily says her father made every moment magical, and she is aspiring to carry on his love of family, nature and connection.
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she → say → family
He made ordinary moments special
Dad was just the most present father, despite his busy professional career as a pathologist.
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Dad → make → pathologist
He was still there for our family activities and to support me and my siblings.
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He taught me how to swim.
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He → teach → me
He taught me how to ride a bike.
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We would spend hours out at the wave pool at Ryde Aquatic.
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When I was 7, he started waking up at 5am to take me to swimming training three or four times a week.
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he → start → training
He would come and watch all of my ballet concerts, swimming carnivals, athletics, cross country, everything that we were doing.
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Looking back, I don't even know how he found the time.
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he → look → time
Even in the teenage years when you're fighting with your parents a little bit, he still always showed up for me and always told me that he was proud of me regardless.
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he → fight → me
If I stumbled, he was still the first one to be cheering me on.
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he → stumble → me
Every moment was special, regardless of what we were doing, even if we were just sitting in silence.
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Being present with the people you love was a really important lesson he taught me growing up.
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he → love → me
He made every moment we spent together magical and he was all the qualities that I aspire to be.
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I → make → that
Dad got up every day with a smile on his face
Dad had his first seizure when he was overseas in Poland in 2023.
He and Mum were there for a conference.
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They went hiking with some of their friends and when they came back down the mountain he had a seizure.
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he → go → seizure
They think that this was because the altitude caused his brain to swell.
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So, in that way, it was a little bit lucky because if he hadn't done that hike, perhaps we wouldn't have known about the brain tumour as early on as we did.
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Dad called me and my siblings from the hospital to tell us about the glioblastoma diagnosis, and I just remember he sounded very defeated, which I've never really heard him sound before.
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him → call → which
He's such a positive person and was everyone's biggest cheerleader, but to hear him in that moment, it was really devastating.
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it → hear → moment
We cried together and then moved into problem-solving and treatment mode.
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We → cry → mode
It's just amazing to me that having such a devastating diagnosis, he was able to harness that and turn it into something positive and be a source of light for other people going through similar journeys.
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he → have → journeys
He still got up every day, and he had a smile on his face, and he did the things that he loved the most, which was running and cycling and doing triathlons and being out in nature.
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which → get → nature
It was just an amazing thing to watch his resilience every day, right up until he passed away on June 7th this year.
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he → watch → 7th
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He taught me everything about love
I've heard it said that grief is like a rock you carry with you in your pocket.
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It starts as a large, jagged boulder, constantly piercing your side, but with time, the sharp edges wear down, and it becomes smoother and easier to carry with you.
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Right now, my grief feels like that jagged boulder, but I like the idea that it eventually becomes this sort of positive touchstone rather than something very painful.
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it → feel → touchstone
I feel so lucky to have had him as my dad.
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I → feel → dad
He showed me what it means to show unconditional love and support.
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it → show → love
And he showed me what it means to be reliable and show up for the people you love as well.
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you → show → people
Sharing stories of him will be one of the ways that we mark this Father's Day.
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we → share → Day
We're planning on spending it together as a family, spending time outdoors in nature and with our dog Cha Cha as well, who dad loved.
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dad → plan → who
Dad's favourite moments were always when we were together.
And I try to stay connected to him by doing the things that he loved.
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he → try → that
I'm running, I'm swimming, I'm doing parkrun.
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I → run → parkrun
Anytime there's a beautiful sunset, I think Dad probably sorted that one out.
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Dad → be → one
I'll always treasure every single moment we spent together and I know he did too.
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he → treasure → moment
Everything that he's done for me throughout my 22 years of life — every time we shared a smile or a hug — it's never enough, you always want more, but he definitely gave me enough to last a lifetime.
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he → do → lifetime
The Aporia