Help me to pay for Medical fees

Karen Johnstone is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

WE ARE BOTH SICK AND WE NEED YOUR HELP.

UPDATE November 2023

Both of us are still very sick and disabled. Katie, now 16, has been housebound for 2 years due to vaccine injury, and I have been ill for 3.7 years and became housebound this year after reinfection due to post viral (Covid) syndrome. I’m unable to work at all or even go to the supermarket.

We will soon be getting diagnosed for ME/CFS due to our severe fatigue which we suffer on a daily basis. The energy we used to have no longer exists and just having a shower puts us in bed.

With the help of a multidisciplinary team of FND specialists, Katie was attending a weekly clinic at GCUH which helped her FND symptoms but we had to postpone her appointments due to worsening of psychiatric symptoms.

My name is Karen and I am a single mum of Katie. I got Covid in March 2020 and ever since then, my health hasn’t been the same and I’ve had to see and still see multiple specialists and am now on lots of medication. Throughout 2021, with no government support, I lived off my savings as I couldn't work enough and paid for my own private medical expenses. Due to the complexity and urgency of my case, my Doctor advised me to go Private rather than waiting for months, even years in the public system only to be seen by a registrar. Unfortunately early 2023, I had a reinfection which made me housebound with more pain and fatigue. What makes this all so hard is that my daughter Katie is also very sick and disabled, it’s ruined her future. I turned to GoFundMe because I had no other choice. With Long Covid not recognised as a disability in Australia, I don’t have the right support. I really need your help to pay for Katie's medical expenses.

ABOUT KATIE

It was around September 2021 straight after her first Moderna vaccine when Katie first began to feel unwell and was having heart palpitations and cognitive issues. She was forced to miss the last term of school and was very ill on the couch all through the holidays. Thanks to our first lot of donations that came through, Katie was able to undergo a number of specialist tests including a sleep EEG for seizures/epilepsy which did not capture any episodes (this cannot be completely ruled out). She has continued to suffer new and ongoing symptoms which have her unable to be herself or go back to school due to the nauseous and pain as well as neurological issues. Katie's nervous system is being difficult with consistent neuralgia. It’s hard to see her on the couch all day with fluctuating temperatures, joint pain, nausea, food intolerance, severe headaches, her taste is off, and cognitive issues with memory loss where she is unable to recognise her friends.

UPDATE: Thanks to your support so far, Katie has been able to see the right specialists and is now under the care of a Paediatrician in Dr Whittaker and has undergone further testing. There may be coexisting problems which are heightening her symptoms. Katie is scheduled to see her specialist in late April where we will have to update her on Katie's current heart issue. We need to keep this fundraiser going as there will be a lot more appointments and possibly cardiac tests coming up. I hope to God I can recover to. Thank you.

The future has a lot to hold for both of us and this GoFundMe will hopefully help the financial side of this mess, and help us find out what’s going on.

Please help by donating or sharing my link. Thank you so much.

Katie (below) having her MRI scan.