05 Grant wears Beth's wedding ring on his little finger. It's a perfect fit.
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Glenn told Grant he had been involved in selecting him for the experience out of some 200 entries. “He said the story was very poignant and it almost fell on the anniversary of Beth’s passing. She died on New Year’s Day 2018 and the Pink Day was January 5, 2019. It was always going to be a pretty emotional few days for me anyway just remembering back 12 months on. It was actually good to have won that and do things and keep my mind active,” Grant said. “Glenn and I just chatted and he has been through something similar to me, so we compared stories and he said he knew what I was going through and you knew it wasn’t just lip service, it was a real good talk, from the heart from him.” In addition to the support he had from his cricket family at Fremantle, Grant also received tremendous support from the Police Family. Grant said it was a challenge juggling shift work and supporting his wife but his colleagues were only too happy to assist him whenever he needed help. “They were really good here (Forensic Division), they put me onto pretty much a day shift job because Beth really struggled at night time with her treatments. Night time was a very difficult time for her not being able to sleep, she got really nervous at night time so, it was important for me to be home at night with her,” he said. “Everyone on the floor knew what was going on so if I needed a shift change, there were people bending over backwards to help us.” Another important piece of support came from Chaplain Keith Carmody who visited Beth and Grant towards the end of Beth’s fight. Keith actually married Grant and Beth in 2008 and his visit was very important. “He came and visited Beth and I when Beth was in the hospice towards the end. I know Beth, even though she was 14 POLICE NEWS MARCH 2019
“The Police Family certainly is a big part of being able to get on with life, recover and be somewhat normal.”
in and out of consciousness, at that time she woke up when he came, spoke to him and she really appreciated the support.” Grant was also overwhelmed with the messages and displays of support from his fellow police officers. “The amount of emails and texts that you get from people who you haven’t seen for a long time simply saying ‘thinking of you’. I had people come down from Broome for the funeral, people who I’d worked with which was fantastic. “The Police Family certainly is a big part of being able to get on with life, recover and be somewhat normal.” Grant also received support from the WA Police Union’s Death Levy Fund which pays specified amounts on the death of a Member, the death of a Member’s partner and his/her children under 18 years. “We went to the funeral director two or three days after Beth passed away and the bill came to quite a bit, funerals aren’t cheap. I got home, got the call from the Union saying well this is available for you and I nearly fell off the chair as it was nearly three quarters of the bill,” he said. “The $10,000 donation from the Union that I didn’t know was coming certainly helped a lot. There are a lot of coppers out there that don’t know that the benefit exists.” Grant still has his good and bad days. “It has certainly been a challenge going from a house where we did everything together and every non-work moment was us,” Grant said. “The kids have been really good. My son gets married in a couple of weeks’ time so that has been a bit of a distraction. “Beth’s daughter is actually expecting now and they know it’s a girl so they are going to name her Beth which is pretty special.” Grant’s advice for his fellow police officers, listen to your body. “Early detection is probably the best means of defence. Ladies and blokes out there, because blokes can get breast cancer as well, early detection, checking and getting your mammograms all that sort of thing particularly, if you have a family history. “Beth never had any history in her family, it just came out of the blue. So it doesn’t matter if you’ve had history of it in your family or not, just make sure that you get it checked. “Everyone knows their own body, just any little thing that you just don’t feel is right just go and get it checked. It might be a mole that is growing a different colour or whatever just go and get it checked because I think with most cancers, if you can get it early, your chances of survival are a lot higher. “Don’t go she’ll be right, I’ll leave it a month, if I’m not feeling better in a month I’ll go and see the doctor. “Don’t take the risk.”
To support the Fremantle District Cricket Club and Grant’s Pink Stumps Day fundraiser visit fundraise.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/fundraisers/grantedgar/pink-stumps-day.