Amazing life defied the odds

Funerals, we are so often told, should be as much a celebration of life as a sad occasion.That's not such a difficult call when someone has had their proverbial "three score years and 10" and then some. But it's harder to come to terms with for a 49-year-old husband and father of two young children.However, normal rules didn't apply at Alan Simpson's funeral last Tuesday, just as normal rules didn't apply to Alan. Yes, his funeral was a heart-wrenchingly sad occasion for his wife Wendy and children Hannah and Hunter, Alan's parents Bob and Pat, and the hundreds of family and friends who packed the Little Flower Church in West Wollongong.But there was also a great sense of celebration of Alan's courage and for what he had achieved against enormous odds in those 49 years. Alan, you see, had been one of Australia's oldest survivors of that dreadful disease cystic fibrosis which clogs organs (especially the lungs and pancreas) with thick, sticky mucus. He'd spent his life gulping up to 80 pills a day to ward off infection and help him digest his food. Crohn's disease and, more recently, diabetes further complicated the medical picture.Alan was diagnosed at age four, when cystic fibrosis sufferers had a life expectancy of just 14 years. Bob and Pat made sure his 21st birthday was a very special celebration, because no-one had really expected him to make it that far. But he had.And no-one had expected Alan to become a top motorcycle racer, given the physical limitations his illness imposed on his strength and stamina. But he had.As his sister Debra proudly told mourners at his funeral, he'd scored eight race wins in the national 125cc road racing championships. At times he'd even raced with broken bones. But he'd finished.And he turned that passion for motorcycles into a career, working for dealerships before establishing his own very successful national parts and accessories distribution business, Z Power.That was Alan's way. He was determined his illness would not stop him having a full and fulfilling life. So he raced motorcycles, worked hard, travelled the world and made many friends.In 1985 he met Wendy, and his life was complete.In her eulogy to her husband, Wendy spoke of their "24 wonderful years", admitting that at the beginning they didn't think they would have so much time together.But they did, a bonus Wendy, a medical doctor, will always be grateful for.Most importantly, they had two beautiful children, and Wendy said she couldn't have wished for a better role model for Hannah and Hunter. Her husband was also a role model for other cystic fibrosis suffers.Undoubtedly Wendy's love and care - and their children - spurred Alan on. He did everything he could, including undergoing a lung transplant, to ward off the ravages of his disease until he simply couldn't fight any longer.In his tribute, Wendy's father Lee Jones said Alan "made us believe dreams can come true". He described Alan as "the bravest and best man I've ever known, and I thank God for letting us have you for a while". Amen to that.Nick Hartgerink is a former Mercury editor who now runs his own media consultancy