This is/was a remarkable young Australian.
For seven years Aaron suffered from cancer.
He fought strenuously against it, but many things conspired against that fight.
The cancer began in the brain and in spite of the brilliant work of his brain surgeon, Dr Charlie Teo, the cancer spread to his spine.
This brilliant young pianist and musician was rendered paraplegic.
He has spent the last seven months in the St Vincent's Sacred Heart Hospice.
We celebrated his birthday earlier this year.
At the time, it appeared as that might have been as far as Aaron's life would go.
He suffered but he fought.
At three o'clock yesterday morning Aaron died.
Last week, anticipating that time might have been running out, the chairman of the Mo Awards Bobby Bradford and Ken Laing who's done so much for so many in the world of the performing arts, asked me if I'd present Aaron with a Mo award for his outstanding contribution to Australian music.
We did that at midday on Friday at the hospice.
Aaron understood the award.
We had some laughs, took some pictures, Gail his mum was there, as was Charlie Teo, his piano teacher, Stephen and Lynette Waugh, because Lynette too had been operated on by Dr Charlie Teo.
It was a special occasion.
But I sensed that Aaron was weak and the power to fight was receding.
I showed him a picture that we'd taken and he quietly whispered to me that it was the beginning of death picture.
He knew the end was near.
The fortunes of this life are not always distributed by choice.
This was a remarkable talent.
The youngest artist ever to fill the Concert Hall at the Opera House.
His battle has been well documented on that magnificent ABC programme, Australian Story.
The cancer rendered him paraplegic, destroyed his spine and the brain tumours had imposed upon him unbelievable stress.
When we launched his Aaron McMillan Piano Collection on April 19, Aaron recorded an address for the gathering.
It was eloquent, moving, measured, never self-indulgent.
Aaron never once complained.
While in the hospice, computer by his side, unable to move his body, he dragged the computer beside the bed and researched, wrote, compiled and assembled the whole collection.
To many of us it was beyond belief.
We'd go there, we'd hug and try to comfort him.
And he'd always be saying "Listen to this", "What about this", "How do you spell this."
We talked about Franz Liszt, both the greatest composer and the greatest pianist of his time.
Aaron said to me, "I'm going to play this at the Opera House" and he did.
We played Liszt again on Friday in the hospital room from the Aaron McMillan Collection.
It seems hopelessly unfair and yet in a paradoxical way Aaron has been spared more suffering.
He was only 30.
And to think that at 24 he was the youngest concert pianist to perform at the Sydney Opera House.
Even to the end he was planning to write a concerto in the style of Schubert.
Even now as I read of his death, I find it impossible to believe.
I used to call him the Mohammed Ali of the hospice.
He constantly fought and fought.
He wanted to live.
He wanted to go on.
He deserved far more than he was offered.
He offered far more than we deserved.
The Aaron McMillan Piano Collection is nine CDs.
A magnificent and permanent legacy.
The retail price is $79.95 + $9.95 postage, and the number is 1300 722 362.
