Jacob never imagined a night out with his wife drinking tequila shots would be the beginning of his life unravelling.

The man, from Wollongong, was celebrating his anniversary with his wife over dinner, a musical, and drinks at a bar during a night out in Sydney.

As he never liked the taste of tequila, Jacob flinched in disgust when he took a shot.

All of a sudden, he went into an episode that turned out to be a microseizure – one of the first warning signs of a devastating stage four brain cancer diagnosis.

His whole world came crashing down when doctors delivered the soul-crushing news that he may have only six to 18 months to live.

The emotional story was shared by content creator Blair Rubock, who’s behind the powerful social media project Through Strangers Eyes.

Armed with a chair and a camera, Blair invites strangers to open up about their gut-wrenching stories – a reminder that you never truly know what someone is going through.

Sitting in a park, Jacob was in the hot seat where he shared how one fateful night in September 2022 changed the course of his life.

‘My wife and I went out for our anniversary dinner, then watched Moulin Rouge! The Musical in Sydney. We went to a bar afterwards and I had a shot of tequila, then all of a sudden, I went into this episode,’ Jacob told Blair in the video.

What followed next was an episode of microseizure at the same time every night.

‘That happened pretty much for a month straight. I’d get it around the exact time – 9.36pm every night. It was guaranteed to come and get me at that time,’ he said.

When he went to see a GP, he was ordered to get a scan.

Doctors found a tennis ball-sized tumour on the right frontal lobe of his brain.

‘That was a wild one to kind of just jump into a machine after having these weird episodes,’ he explained.

‘As I walked out I looked on the monitors on the left-hand side of me and saw this big white blob there and I was like what the f***.’

By the time he returned to his hometown of Wollongong, he got the phone call that changed everything.

‘(The doctor said) “Jacob, you’ve got severe growth from your brain, you need to get rushed to hospital”,’ he recalled.

During his cancer journey, he said he was given terrible news about his condition.

‘It was rare, stage four brain cancer. They said anywhere from six to 18 months to live,’ Jacob said.

The young man has lived beyond his prognosis as he enters his third year since being diagnosed with the incurable disease.

Blair weighed in on the stranger’s story, saying: ‘I had the pleasure of meeting and sitting down with Jacob. A stage four brain cancer survivor.

‘What a blessing it is to sit down and bear witness to these conversations and listen to the most inspiring human beings. Just incredible.’

By simply giving strangers a platform to be heard, Blair has turned fleeting conversations into moments of deep connection, reminding us how fragile life can be.

‘I wish to spread the kindness and perspective the video offers,’ Blair told Daily Mail.

‘It is a truly incredible story of unexpected tragedy and strength. It goes to show how uncertain life is and that things can change in a heartbeat.’

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Jacob took a tequila shot on a date night with his wife. That one act led to a shock diagnosis… and just months to live