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This is our beautiful, brave, inspiring, stubborn friend Lisa.
We have tried to keep her story as short as we could, but it’s a tricky thing to do when she has been through so much. As time is fast running out, we decided to stop agonising and go with what we’ve got. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it.
Lisa is an original ‘heart kid.’ She was born with congenitally corrected transposition of her greater arteries, a hole in the heart and a murmur. At the time, doctors gave her 1 year to live.... she has spent the last 45 years fighting to prove them wrong!
Despite complete heart block at 12years of age, resulting in a pacemaker, she kept on going in her never give up Lisa style. She managed to have 2 children, to work and support the 3 of them alone. She built a life for her single parent family near Geelong.
In 1992, Lisa contracted a deadly staph infection in her mitral valve (aka 'staph endocarditis').
Surviving that in itself was a fight on its own, it’s legacy being that catching any form of infection ever again (even a cold) had the potential to become a life threatening proposition.
As years progressed, Lisa’s health has continued to deteriorate. She contracted pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, she has had 2 strokes and many TIA's (transient ischemic attacks) due to atrial fibrillation.
More recently, she has also developed further health complications, which she does not wish to disclose because of her children. These cannot be operated on due to her fragile condition. She is worn out, in pain, exhausted and tired of being the strong one.
Basically, Lisa has fought her whole 45 years of life to still be here. So many of us have stood by in awe and watched her single handedly raise 2 beautiful boys, and live a life helping others, despite her deteriorating health. The way that she has faced it all, continued on for her sons, despite all of these set backs is nothing short of awe inspiring.
She has shown so many of us what love and bravery really look like. What matters and what doesn’t. We don’t think that she even realises the number of people’s lives and hearts she has touched, how many people have found a way to keep moving forward, because of the example she has shown them.
Lisa is now in end stage heart failure. Her doctors have told her there is no more they can do and she has been placed with the palliative team. Living day by day on 24hr morphine, a cocktail of medications, Lisa clings to the hope of remaining in palliative at home.
Anyone who has ever met Lisa, will know that she is fiercely independent and never asks for help. Those of us who know and love her have been struggling to know how to make a difference to this amazing woman in her final time here with us. Friends and loved ones feel helpless and powerless to know what to do, to show her how much we care, to make a tangible difference.
We have decided to set up this page to try and raise some funds to assist her financially to get the support she needs to continue with her Palliative Care at home. With her physical health rapidly deteriorating, what she really struggles with is being able to do basic things for herself without help. This loss of independence and having to rely on other people constantly is really wearing Lisa down. To be able to afford some extra help would make the world of difference to her right now.
Lisa is a single mother, with dwindling financial resources, no private health insurance. No partner to help care for her, and her family living a long distance away. Lisa is receiving the most basic palliative care at home. It’s not until you find yourself in this position that you realise how difficult coordinating this is and how little funding goes to this area of health. At present, Lisa cannot afford the ongoing basics. With no family close by, and very little physical support around to help, this is really adding to her distress. It would be fantastic to be able to add some extra funds to enable her to be able to pay for some extra care and small dignities in whatever time she has left.
Over the past few weeks we have watched our beautiful Lisa become more and more tired and despondent, we would like to do everything that we can to make what time she’s got left as comfortable as possible, to ease as much of the burden as we can, to give her the power and dignity to maintain what tiny shred of independence and dignity that she has left. We are asking for help to achieve this, to give back to Lisa, some of the magic that she has brought to so many others lives.
The prospect of leaving her 2 sons so young is breaking her heart. The time she has left with them is so precious, to be able to alleviate her financial situation, would make such a huge difference to her and to her tiny family. She needs to rest and be with her boys and be as comfortable as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any donation is greatly appreciated. Please know that it will make a huge difference to the lives of 3 very special people. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We have tried to keep her story as short as we could, but it’s a tricky thing to do when she has been through so much. As time is fast running out, we decided to stop agonising and go with what we’ve got. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it.
Lisa is an original ‘heart kid.’ She was born with congenitally corrected transposition of her greater arteries, a hole in the heart and a murmur. At the time, doctors gave her 1 year to live.... she has spent the last 45 years fighting to prove them wrong!
Despite complete heart block at 12years of age, resulting in a pacemaker, she kept on going in her never give up Lisa style. She managed to have 2 children, to work and support the 3 of them alone. She built a life for her single parent family near Geelong.
In 1992, Lisa contracted a deadly staph infection in her mitral valve (aka 'staph endocarditis').
Surviving that in itself was a fight on its own, it’s legacy being that catching any form of infection ever again (even a cold) had the potential to become a life threatening proposition.
As years progressed, Lisa’s health has continued to deteriorate. She contracted pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, she has had 2 strokes and many TIA's (transient ischemic attacks) due to atrial fibrillation.
More recently, she has also developed further health complications, which she does not wish to disclose because of her children. These cannot be operated on due to her fragile condition. She is worn out, in pain, exhausted and tired of being the strong one.
Basically, Lisa has fought her whole 45 years of life to still be here. So many of us have stood by in awe and watched her single handedly raise 2 beautiful boys, and live a life helping others, despite her deteriorating health. The way that she has faced it all, continued on for her sons, despite all of these set backs is nothing short of awe inspiring.
She has shown so many of us what love and bravery really look like. What matters and what doesn’t. We don’t think that she even realises the number of people’s lives and hearts she has touched, how many people have found a way to keep moving forward, because of the example she has shown them.
Lisa is now in end stage heart failure. Her doctors have told her there is no more they can do and she has been placed with the palliative team. Living day by day on 24hr morphine, a cocktail of medications, Lisa clings to the hope of remaining in palliative at home.
Anyone who has ever met Lisa, will know that she is fiercely independent and never asks for help. Those of us who know and love her have been struggling to know how to make a difference to this amazing woman in her final time here with us. Friends and loved ones feel helpless and powerless to know what to do, to show her how much we care, to make a tangible difference.
We have decided to set up this page to try and raise some funds to assist her financially to get the support she needs to continue with her Palliative Care at home. With her physical health rapidly deteriorating, what she really struggles with is being able to do basic things for herself without help. This loss of independence and having to rely on other people constantly is really wearing Lisa down. To be able to afford some extra help would make the world of difference to her right now.
Lisa is a single mother, with dwindling financial resources, no private health insurance. No partner to help care for her, and her family living a long distance away. Lisa is receiving the most basic palliative care at home. It’s not until you find yourself in this position that you realise how difficult coordinating this is and how little funding goes to this area of health. At present, Lisa cannot afford the ongoing basics. With no family close by, and very little physical support around to help, this is really adding to her distress. It would be fantastic to be able to add some extra funds to enable her to be able to pay for some extra care and small dignities in whatever time she has left.
Over the past few weeks we have watched our beautiful Lisa become more and more tired and despondent, we would like to do everything that we can to make what time she’s got left as comfortable as possible, to ease as much of the burden as we can, to give her the power and dignity to maintain what tiny shred of independence and dignity that she has left. We are asking for help to achieve this, to give back to Lisa, some of the magic that she has brought to so many others lives.
The prospect of leaving her 2 sons so young is breaking her heart. The time she has left with them is so precious, to be able to alleviate her financial situation, would make such a huge difference to her and to her tiny family. She needs to rest and be with her boys and be as comfortable as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any donation is greatly appreciated. Please know that it will make a huge difference to the lives of 3 very special people. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.