Well it’s Friday and the seasons are changing (maybe?) and this video is just really, really emotional but not in that overly sugary/manipulative way that the soundtrack (‘Marry Me’ by Train) might imply. Real talk guys. Back story: In 2009, a 35 year old Australian named Kristian Anderson was diagnosed with bowel cancer, soon thereafter it spread to his liver. Anderson, understandably, is now a vocal advocate for early detection of the disease: “If I had got tests done when I first suspected something, I might have only had bowel cancer and they could have just gone straight in and cut it out… It doesn’t matter if it’s nothing but the best thing you can do is find out it’s nothing.”
One of Anderson’s biggest supporters is his wife Rachel a native New Zealander who also recently celebrated her birthday. As a present, Kristian made his wife a stirring birthday video thanking her for her support during his illness. The video not only features, with help from local radio station Triple M, cameos by John Key, the Prime Minister of Rachel’s homeland, but acting mega star Hugh Jackman too. The kicker for me though, is Kristian’s heartfelt hand written messages (because Rachel says he talks too much). Sample instant tear jerker: “I’ll never give up (so please don’t give up on me)“.
Damn. If I watched this alone in my bedroom instead of in an office full of people I have to maintain some semblance of normalcy around, I’d be crying like a fucking baby right about now.
