HELP THE SMITH FAMILY FOR KYLES EMERGENCY SURGERY

HELLO AMAZING PEOPLE, thank you so much for clicking on this page to learn about my beautiful friends and the roller coaster they have endured over the past year.

Kyle was diagnosed with both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis many years ago. Kyle was in and out of hospital these diseases flaring up despite many attempts at different drugs and treatments to ease his pain and prevent him from having surgery but ultimately everything failed.

In November 2022 Kyle underwent emergency surgery for a subtotal colectomy with an end ileostomy (meaning Kyle had almost all of his bowel removed and started living with a stoma and ostomy bag). Although the surgery seemed to have gone well and Kyle and Natalee were under the impression that after the initial recovery and adjustment period, living with a stoma would mean a happier and healthier life with no flare-ups, medications, or hospital admissions.. unfortunately, this was not the case. Kyle’s disease was still present in the part of his bowel that was left and he became more unwell than ever. Kyle had a proctocolectomy (where they removed his colon and rectum) and constructing an ileal pouch anal-anastomosis (IPAA) or j-pouch (meaning they created a ‘new bowel’ out of his small intestine). He then needed to wait for this to heal before they could reverse the stoma and connect everything up. This hospital admission came with many complications, returns to theatre and visits to ICU.

After a 6 month wait Kyle finally had his stoma reversed and began living with the j pouch in October 2023. This came with its own challenges but was going seemingly well until 4 weeks post op - Kyle was taken to hospital via ambulance suspecting a bladder infection but was instead told he has an air pocket in his abdomen. Further testing showed a hole in the j pouch and within 5 minutes he was being rushed to theatre to repair the pouch and create a temporary stoma whilst the pouch heals, so he will now await another major surgery date to have the stoma reversed again.

Kyle was an apprentice roof plumber and has been taking unpaid leave for over a year now. Naty had not long come off maternity leave after the birth of their baby girl but managed to get two part time jobs in an attempt to support their young family.

I can see Naty has been doing all she can to be a good mum, support Kyle and make money for their family but the reality is, she doesn’t have the time or childcare to be working so much whilst Kyle is still in the hospital or recovering and her part time wage doesn’t cover their every day expenses which now includes a lot of medications and travel to and from melbourne.

This disease which has weaselled its way into their young family’s life is mentally, physically and financially placing such a huge stress on Kyle and Naty. They are trying to raise young children whilst battling constant challenges that don’t seem to stop being thrown at them.

Kyle receives all of his treatment in the Austin hospital; which is a 2-hour drive from their home in Merton. Naty has had to drive Kyle to and from for all of his admissions and also has to do a 4-hour round trip each time she and the kids go to visit him for emotional support. There is also the issue of paying for parking at the hospital, medical supplies, and medication, all on top of all life’s usual expenses and having two young children.

It has been very difficult as a friend to see how much this family have been struggling and I have been unsure how else to support them, so I thought that taking off some of the financial pressures would be a big help.

I know it’s a hard time for most people at the moment, with the cost of living rising but even the smallest contribution could make such a difference for Naty and the kids to be able to travel back and forth to visit and support Kyle without stressing about the costs of diesel. But also, to continue to give Kyle the time he needs off work to make a full recovery and hopefully then be on the path to a much healthier and happier life with his beautiful family.

thank you x