In 2014, Mel’s life turned completely upside down, and she lost almost everything.

Mel grew up being described as wild, energetic, fun-loving, charismatic, determined, loyal and kind. Mel was a very active child, enjoying competitive gymnastics, trampolining and team sports. In 2009 (early teens), Mel started experiencing symptoms of chronic illness that progressively became more severe with no clear answer as to why.

By her late teens, Mel had become almost completely bed-bound.

At a time when her friends were gaining their independence, Mel was losing hers. Mel was a very high achiever and graduated high school with honours. She was accepted into her first choice of University and course; however, she was not able to pursue it and had to quit her casual job. She was unable to see the friends she had grown up with and was left behind, unable to enter the exciting new chapters of life with the freedom and excitement that she and those around her had expected.

Mel suddenly lost all independence. She needed her mum’s help with basic daily tasks—bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, drinking water, and eating meals lying down in bed. There were years where Mel couldn’t even use a phone or watch TV; she just had to lie flat in her bed around the clock. In extreme pain and experiencing extreme suffering.

Mel remained mostly bed-bound for the next 10 years. During these 10 years, she did all she could to find answers and improve her health. Mel would see years go by with only tiny results, none at all, or even worsening symptoms. She even had a few years where she needed a feeding tube as her body stopped tolerating food almost entirely. However, despite the repeated setbacks, Mel never lost her fierce determination and the mentality that she would get better - needed to get better.

Thanks to her determination and persistence, Mel has made remarkable progress. She’s fought hard for every small improvement in her quality of life. Mel has fought for her quality of life and sought out her improvements through a combination of various treatments, therapies, surgery, nutrition, mindset, and nervous system regulation practice. While Mel is grateful for the improvements so far, she recognises she still has a long way to go. She has worked hard for many years to exhaust the resources available to her and needs support to continue to improve, pursue her goals, and reach a better quality of life.

Because Mel had only just started her adult life, and had only worked a casual job during school, there was no payout or insurance/super claims available. Government and financial assistance were very limited (even though she’d be diagnosed with a lifelong disability). Despite medical diagnosis confirming a pharmaceutical product as a major trigger for Mel’s sudden health decline at such a young age, there is no compensation available to her here in Australia.

At a time when most young adults are building their futures, Mel was fighting just to survive—completely reliant on others for basic care and unable to provide for herself.

In her early 20s, Mel married Simeon, who’d been in her life since they were young teens and stayed through the journey. Simeon worked part-time to care for her, riding the fine line between earning enough to cover costs and having enough time to be a carer. As a result, they have experienced severe financial hardship during their marriage. Mel and her husband have sacrificed dreams of property, parenthood, business and financial freedom in the pursuit of Mel’s better health. These sacrifices have not just been in the big things; Mel and Simeon have also struggled throughout their marriage with the smaller “everyday” payments, such as food, clothing, technology, hobbies, and furniture. Unfortunately, this has meant years of living paycheck to paycheck under the weight of large medical bills and the increasing costs of living.

Many of Mel’s conditions went years diagnosed, with some of her conditions taking around 10-15 years to be answered. In order to be diagnosed and receive treatment, Mel’s only option was the private health care system. The care she needed (at one point to save her life) did not exist in the public health care system. Mel and her husband would estimate to have spent well into six figures out of pocket on Mel’s medical needs. While privileged by Simeon’s access to work and the generosity of close friends and family, this is ultimately unsustainable.

Mel has developed an incredible passion to help others, which has led to her starting a YouTube channel with the goal in mind to encourage and provide hope and insight for others battling similar conditions.

Mel hopes to be able to work in the future, and would desperately love for this goal to become a reality. Mel has been working really hard over the last decade to reach her life goals and to be able to do the things that others her age can. Mel has always had a big heart for people and would like to be able to do more to help others; however, to make this a possibility, she needs a lot of help and support.

Mel has been very hesitant to crowd fund as she doesn’t want to need help or ask people to donate their finite resources. She has shed many tears in this process and delayed as long as she can. She hopes that people can share this GoFundMe so that she can reach her goal with a number of people just donating a little, rather than anyone donating too much.

(More information on diagnosis and the impact on Mel’s quality of life will be in the updates and comments section. You can also view this playlist on Mel’s YouTube channel, which has all the videos explaining her symptoms and diagnosis. (Symptom and Diagnosis YouTube Videos )

Mel’s GoFundMe Goals

Mel’s most pressing needs currently are as follows (this is the order in which funds would be used, dependent on the total funds raised). Every dollar helps Mel move closer to healing, stability, and independence. Here’s how your support will be used:

Fundraising Goals at a Glance

Mel would like you to know: “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, sharing, donating, or just being in my corner. It all helps more than you know.”

See the comment section for a breakdown and further information for each of these categories in the table above. Mel's medical conditions are also listed in the comments/updates section.