Who was Basile?

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Basile Alexander.  Where do I start? My family first met Basile and his dad at a family friend’s house when I was just 14 years old.  My sisters and I became friends with him and as the years passed, living in separate states, our meetings were few and far between, but oh so memorable!  I went to my first club with Basile and his friends, drove for the first time and had many laughs together and of course, some arguments.... We had a brother-sister relationship, where we weren't afraid of confrontations, making fun of each other or playing practical jokes (usually not so funny for the victim, who was usually me, by the way).  

 

One year, my sister Christina decided to visit him in Adelaide for a getaway.  It had been years since they had seen each other and let’s just say, Christina wasn't the young teenage girl he remembered; she was all grown up and the love story began!  Christina was so happy, Basile became her best friend and every chance she had, she went to Adelaide to be with him.  I was so happy for her, Basile was her Prince Charming and they were completely in love!  Christina moved to Adelaide as soon as she finished her studies, I always used to say he stole her from us!  

 

I vividly remember the day Basile called me to ask my thoughts on white or yellow gold for her engagement ring, he was going to surprise her!  The rest is history, they had their fairy-tale wedding and started their beautiful family.  My sister's life was literally like a fairy tale.  It was amazing!

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The day time stopped...

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February 20, 2016 changed my family's life forever.  Christina, who was almost 5 months pregnant, Basile, and their 3 children were in Melbourne for the weekend.  After a beautiful dinner date together, Christina and Basile returned to their sleeping children, who were being babysat by my younger brother.  Basile and my brother stayed up talking and catching up.  As they were chatting, however, Basile had a reflux feeling, and started to feel uncomfortable.  Being the calm and logical person he was, he didn't think anything of it, but decided to go to hospital for an ECG anyway, just to be on the safe side.  

 

Basile walked into the emergency department feeling fine, assuring Christina he was ok, even joking with the nurses as they were preparing him for the ECG.  It was then, though, that he suffered a massive heart attack.  

 

When I received the call, I rushed to the hospital, my mind was spinning with thoughts.... Part of me was confident. Basile was going to be ok.  And I was excited.  He could tell us the answers to questions like, Was there a white light, what actually happens once your heart stops, and are the stories real?  I didn't think for a second he wouldn't survive.  Not for a second.  I thought about how Christina would make him reduce his workload, and if this scare would be enough to keep him at home to rest.  Basile was so ambitious and a workaholic; he had just finished setting up his second day hospital and was in the process of building his dream home.  Only two weeks earlier, he had proudly shown us through the half-built house with excitement.  

 

As I was running through the hospital, looking for my sisters, I was sure I would wake up from the nightmare I was having.  But I didn’t.  It was real.  I walked into the room, my sister Christina was sobbing.  Andrea, my youngest sister, who was also pregnant, had tears streaming down her face.  I felt sick.  This was really happening.  How was this possible?  How?  I will never forget what I saw and felt that night; the tragedy, the sadness, the fear, the sadness, the trauma.  

 

I would do anything for that night to have never happened and for Christina and Basile to be living their happily-ever-after life with their beautiful family.  But it can't be undone, as much as I wish for it, as much as Christina questions what she could have done to prevent it...

 

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My promise...

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Basile was a healthy, 38 year old man when he was given his first and last warning.  He was struck down in the prime of his life, one moment he was strong, healthy and ambitious; his hard work was paying off and he was reaping the rewards.  The next he was gone.  Yet behind his healthy appearance, was a diseased heart.  My sister’s best friend and partner was taken from her.  My nephews and niece, as well as Christina and Basile’s unborn child, were robbed of their amazing father.  Come Monday morning at his gastroenterologist practice, where he had saved countless lives, Basile was not there for his patients.  

 

His traumatic departure changed my sister’s life, but has also changed my life forever too.  The saying, ‘live every day like it is your last’, as cliché as it sounds, really hit home.  I told my sister I would do something to keep his memory alive as well as create awareness that heart disease is not just an old person’s disease.  So, in Basile's honour, Goodi Bagg will donate much needed funds to the Heart Foundation, but not only that, my hope is that Goodi Bagg raises awareness about heart health.  All of this is to ensure we didn't lose Basile in vain; this larger than life family man, who I was proud to call my brother-in-law.  Basile will continue to save lives.