It was the news that rocked Aivi Luik's world.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Her younger brother Noa had brain cancer.
The overseas-based Matilda still hasn't seen her brother since the diagnosis, but when the final whistle sounds at Canberra Stadium on Tuesday, she'll go from national duties to sisterly duties.
Luik has set herself a $30,000 fundraising target for the Mark Hughes Foundation, to fund research and nurses.
It's a feat she hopes to achieve by the final whistle of the Matildas' match against the Football Ferns - after which she'll shave her head.
More than $11,000 has already been raised in 24 hours.
"This has all happened while I've been overseas, and up until this day I still haven't been able to see my brother," she said.
"As any person knows whose family member or friend or loved one is suffering and they can't be with them, you get this extreme sense of helplessness, and I've felt that quite a bit.
"And [this is] my way, while I'm apart from him, of helping him - and not just him, but other people who are going through this.
"I'm just opening up the avenue for other people to help, so really it's all these other people that are donating that are amazing."
The Matildas triumphed 2-1 over the Kiwis in Townsville on Friday.
And although they will be rivals in Canberra for 90 minutes once more, Luik has recruited Fern Rebekah Stott to help her if she does hit her target.
And she said the Matildas had been her rocks in camp, whilst the entire footballing community had responded better than she ever could have hoped.
"The idea had been in my mind for a few days and I wanted to meet up with Stotty in person and talk to her about the idea and see if she would want to participate in it," Luik said.
"And the schedule was just hectic and I didn't have any time really. And that's why ... it all only got up and running online at like 9.30pm or something [Saturday].
"It's incredible that it's not even been 24 hours and I've reached a third of the goal.
"It's a horrible situation but ... if there's there's one good thing that has come out of all of this, it's honestly all of the love and support."
MORE IN CANBERRA SPORT:
Stott returned to the pitch late last year after a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and will shave Luik's head post-match if $30,000 is raised.
The midfielder jumped at the opportunity when the pair discussed it at the airport on the weekend, because she knows first-hand how much the fundraising helps.
"We were both a bit emotional; it's such a hard thing. It's tough, it's very emotional and it takes me back as well," Stott said.
"[But] it is really, really needed. The treatment now is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. And even the support ... they bring to families and young adults and everyone going through that hard time. It's just so helpful."
The Kiwi midfielder did not feature in the first game of the series last week as she was still figuring out her body's limits post-treatment, but she hopes to get some minutes on Tuesday.
"I had a bit of a tough week," she said.
"I was very fatigued after the ALW season, and that kind of came into camp with me. But we've got a better management plan now and I've done a lot of recovery."
Stott is not the only player, or former Melbourne City teammate, Luik has reached out to since her brother's diagnosis.
Former City striker Rhali Dobson, who retired after the 2020-22 ALW season to spend more time with her partner Matt Stonham who has brain cancer, has also played a part.
"Her fiancee has gone through something actually very similar to what my brother is just embarking on. So I spoke to them over the phone with my brother and my family actually, and they were and have been such a tremendous support for us," Luik gushed.
"And they've really prepped us and given us a bit of inside knowledge into what we can expect and that's just helped to bring about a little bit more calmness, I guess, in everything.
"Because it's always hard, I think, when you go into something and you're not prepared and you don't know what's coming, and they have just been amazing."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram