Cam Hollows said his dad was 'a hard act to follow', paying tribute to him and the other father figures in his life
Being a father is the trickiest yet most important thing a man can do, says Cam Hollows, a father of two young daughters and a country doctor in northern NSW.
Cam Hollows at home with his wife Jane McKenzie-Hollows and his two daughters Matilda and Tabitha in the treehouse he built for them. Hollows' late father Fred was a famous eye doctor."It's not about blood. It's about family," Dr Hollows said of these relationships. It might be an interview about Father's Day, but Dr Hollows keeps coming back to his mother Gabi as the "real unsung hero" of his childhood and the foundation.
Like his older and younger sisters, Dr Hollows is also involved with the Fred Hollows Foundation to restore sight and prevent infectious diseases like trachoma that cause blindness. During the pandemic, its staff in Bangladesh and Pakistan used their knowledge of infection control to prevent the spread of COVID.
Unlike most children who lose a parent and barely have a shoebox full of memories, Cam - who, like his sisters, was named by Fred in honour of left wing revolutionaries - said he was lucky to have many photos and videos. "We have Fred's voice on tape, we also have the ongoing work of dad's that has kept the story alive, and kept the family together."
Dr Hollows remembers Fred as the kind of father who took his kids camping, who thrashed him at chess, who stopped the car to force his children to climb boulders and read historical plaques, and took them out of school to travel with him. He used to come home after a day of curing global blindness and would turn cedar furniture that would bring tears to your eyes.Being a father is the most important thing most men can do, yet fathers - and those who fill these roles - can be torn in different directions, Dr Hollows said.
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