Alicia and Jessie have always been the kind of couple who give their all, to their work, their friends, and their dream of starting a family. After years of hard work and saving, they finally began their IVF journey, filled with hope for the future.

But just as their dream was taking shape, tragedy struck.

Alicia’s Story:

“On the 21st of September, Jesse was out mowing the lawns when out of nowhere he lost his sight and depth perception.

I was out for a walk with Lola (our dog) when he called and asked me to come back.

Initially, we thought it was just a migraine, but Jesse’s headache got worse and he began vomiting, so I called an ambulance.

At the hospital, they ran a CT scan after calling a ‘query stroke’ ahead. Within 30 minutes, I was called into the emergency room and told I had to say goodbye to him so they could fly him to Melbourne; he had a major bleed on his brain.

The official diagnosis was a haemorrhage with intraventricular and subarachnoid extension.

We spent two weeks in the Royal Melbourne Hospital and another four days in Wangaratta Hospital. Since then, we’ve been doing rehabilitation at home.

Jesse has learned how to walk and talk again, but he’s lost about 10% of his vision and still struggles with daily tasks because of his limited sight and depth perception.

He recently had an angiogram which found an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), and we’re now waiting to find out whether he’ll need surgery or radiotherapy.

Just last week, he had an episode that looked like another stroke, after tests, they discovered he was having a focal seizure due to scarring on his brain. He’s now being tested for epilepsy and further seizures.

We have ongoing appointments at the Royal Melbourne with the stroke team, a cerebral vascular surgeon, and a neurosurgeon.

The week after Jesse’s stroke was meant to be our first embryo transfer”.

Jessie’s rehabilitation journey is long and uncertain. He’s currently unable to work, and Alicia has had to reduce her hours to care for him. Their savings, once set aside for IVF, have been spent on medical and living costs. As a young couple who recently bought their first home, they’ve now fallen behind on their mortgage and are struggling to stay afloat.

Anyone who knows Alicia knows her bright, bubbly, and caring nature, she’s always there to help others and never one to ask for help herself. But now, she and Jessie truly need our support.

Even a small donation can help them through this incredibly tough time ; to ease the financial pressure, keep their home, and focus on Jesse’s healing and recovery.

Let’s rally around this beautiful couple with love, compassion, and community.