Brit, 28, who fulfilled dream of moving to Australia left devastated after being diagnosed with incurable brain tumour
A YOUNG Brit who moved to Australia with his girlfriend and planned to settle down had his world torn apart after being told that a brain tumour could kill him within seven years.
Jack Donovan, 28, and his girlfriend Amy Prothero couldn't have been happier when they headed down under with dreams of raising a family - but tragedy struck the loved-up couple last year.
The Brit, from Cyncoed, Cardiff, had made repeat hospital visits in Melbourne only to be told there was nothing wrong with him.
But after his girlfriend found him curled up in agony in their bathroom, doctors finally discovered the terminal cancer in his head.
“I was confused and did not know what to think,” Jack, from Cardiff, said.
“I got upset and I still do now but there is nothing I can do about it.”
In October the brave Brit had surgery which removed about half of the tumour but it is still growing.
To make matters worse, Jack does not have a chromosome called 1P19Q, meaning treatment is less effective.
His remaining life expectancy has been halved from about 15 years to seven as his condition is harder to treat with radio and chemo therapies.
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Jack admitted it was “one of those situations where we do not know what is going to happen”.
He added: “Even if they cut it out it could still grow back.
“It’s like it has got arms and legs.”
Jack, who works in aquarium installation, said he coped “the only way I can”.
“I just try and get on with as much as I can,” he said.
“I work three days a week but do shorter days. That helps me get along.”
Jack is aware of his bleak situation and says he and his partner take each day as it comes.
"They can't cure it," he added, "they always said they could not cure it."
"They have done what they can at this stage to remove the part they could remove so now we are just watching and hoping."
Despite the dire circumstances, Jack has learnt to deal with hid condition, saying: "When I'm gone, I'm gone".
“But at the same time I feel for my family and I feel for Amy because I’m not going to be here to support them because I will be gone.”
Jack, who has a twin sister called Kayleigh and three other siblings, expects he will have to return to the UK at some point.
Jack turned 28 last month. He and Amy went for dinner but there was no party.
“I did not really want to celebrate my birthday because every time I do it’s like it is another year less for me, which is hard.”
Amy said: “I feel like I talk about it like it is a story – not like it’s real life."
The couple arrived in Melbourne in 2013 and decided to "stick around".
Back in Wales, Jack’s mum, Deborah Louise Blake, said: “I just deal with it and worry about how Jack deals with it."
Amy has created a on My Cause to help Jack fulfill some of his dreams before time runs out.
She aims to riase 5,000 Australian dollars (£3,850) so that Jack can go diving, ride Route 66 on a Harley-Davidson and learn to be a barista - as Amy loves coffee.