George Pike’s father was an active farmer and chauffeur at age 70, until he went into the hospital for hip replacement surgery in March 2013.
He was kept off his feet for months by an unseen infection. George was told a new round of drugs would clear it from his blood, so he left on a scheduled 6-month internship in Australia with a film production company in Sydney. When the job ended in February, the 22-year-old began a year long road trip across the continent that he had spent months dreaming about.
But his father had to have another operation to have his hip taken out and replaced with ‘cement’ in order to try and kill the infection that had not dissipated with drugs along. He was in hospital for 3 and a half weeks and during recovery at home he had no ability to do any of the things he had done his entire life — farming, driving, cycling etc.
After a month of traveling, from Sydney to Perth, George was having the time of his life, but his dad was forever in his thoughts.
“My dad is the sole reason I am the person I am today, and I owe him everything I have for everything he has done for me since he brought my brother and I up from an early age. So I made the decision to end my journey, sell my car, and return home.”
Without his father knowing, his brother picked him up from the airport and took him straight to the house on April 1 where his dad had been pretty much chair bound for the previous 14 months.
His brother walked in first with George’s phone to discreetly record a video or the surprise. WATCH the heartwarming reunion above.
Tomorrow George’s father heads back to surgery, with the infection almost gone, to hopefully turn the corner with a final hip operation and end 15 months of pain.
“Since arriving home I have been helping him by working on the farm and driving clients for his chauffeur job, he hasn’t been able to make any money for so long so he really needed the help financially,” said George. “I have also been able to drive him around and take him out of the house — so lots of restaurants and pubs!”
(Watch George’s well-edited Australia travel video below.)