Help Mirna fight incurable terminal cancer

I am fundraising for our very close family friend, Jolanda’s dear mother, Mirna in her fight to manage the incurable cancerous disease, known as multiple myeloma. On top of overcoming this major challenge, you will also get to know more of Jolanda's journey as a loving daughter, devoted wife in taking care of her husband with a disability and raising her only daughter.

Myeloma is a type of blood cancer that develops from plasma cells in the bone marrow. These cancerous cells block the supply of normal blood cells. It usually cannot be cured and additional treatment is needed when cancer comes back. Treatment can only help control symptoms and improve quality of life. 

Background of Jolanda and Family

The beginning of my family’s life bond with Jolanda, her husband Donny and her only daughter Chelsea can be traced back to the year 2006 when Jolanda and my mother both met as co-workers in the same department.

Jolanda, native to Jakarta Indonesia has dreamt of a better life for herself. In pursuit of a brighter future, she commenced her master's studies in Sydney Australia between 1999-2000. Upon completion, she went back to Indonesia, got married to Donny and had Chelsea. Through hard work, commitment, and tenacity, Jolanda secured permanent residency and brought her family with her to Australia in 2005.

As first-generation immigrants, they faced the challenges of building a life in a new country without the support of any direct family members. This includes the challenge of securing work, stable housing, and managing the day-to-day cost of living. Over time, they were able to overcome this as a family unit, living a modest lifestyle and seeing Chelsea grow up nicely.

It was not until 2009 that tragedy struck when Donny became paraplegic. Donny has been complaining of severe back pains, rendering him unable to walk at times. He was referred to a neurosurgeon and the prognosis was due to nerve compression resulting in the tightening of the spine. On the day of his spinal surgery in August 2009, all seemed fine until Donny woke up post-operation indicating no sensation in his legs. He then had to do an emergency same-day second operation. After a month Donny had to relearn to sit down and control his balance, ultimately diagnosed as a complete paraplegic, with paralysis from the waist, down. He was then transferred to a rehabilitation facility for 7 months.

To maintain the basic organ functionality, Donny is required to have regular operations every 6 months for the rest of his life. This meant that Jolanda had to assume the sole breadwinner role in the family. That is, providing 24/7 care for a disabled husband, raising a young daughter, and financially providing for her family here in Sydney and back in Indonesia. This seemingly insurmountable task has never deterred Jolanda. She has and continues to do this for the sake of her family. We are always in awe of her unwavering ability to manage all of this.

Mirna’s plight and journey

Due to Covid, Jolanda was unable to visit her family back home in Indonesia. It was with great joy, that Mirna, Jolanda’s mum was granted multiple tourist visa to Australia and arrived in November 2022 for a visit.

Mirna, now 75, lost her husband back in September 2019. For the past three years, she has been living alone in Jakarta, a place that Jolanda also helps financially support. This visit is an opportunity to reconnect and spend quality time as a family.

In February 2023, Mirna experienced some nose bleeds. One day Mirna visited the markets and suddenly felt weak and dizzy like that having vertigo. She was brought to the emergency department and had undergone blood tests. Mirna was then admitted on 22nd March 2023 and received blood transfusion along with a bone marrow test. Thereafter, the doctor confirmed that it is multiple myeloma.

Jolanda initially thought that the cause of her weakness was due to sadness and depression. On 28th March 2023, the doctor indicated that there is no cure. If left untreated, Mirna had 1 month to live. With treatment, her life expectancy and quality of life are likely to improve up to a year.

Mirna did not want to be a burden and suggested going back to Indonesia knowing that there are financial consequences of any treatment and the severe physical strain of the chemotherapy. As a non-Australian resident, Mirna is not covered by the Australian Medicare system, meaning medical expenses are not subsidised. Going back home is not a viable option as there is limited help there and Jolanda won’t be able to help there as she is also the primary carer for her disabled husband. As a result, it has been decided for Mirna to remain in Sydney and trial a more cost effective treatment through oral and weekly injection to help block the blood supply to cancerous cells and by stimulating the body's immune system to attack myeloma cells.

For the past few weeks, Mirna remained in the hospital. All we can do is hope that she is receptive to the treatment. Her visit was supposed to be a fun event but ended up being a life-changing one.

Thank you for taking the time to read Mirna and Jolanda’s story. I hope that their story has served as an inspiration to us all. It reminded me on the value of the human spirit of commitment, faith, tenacity, can-do attitude, hope and ultimately love.

Your donation will help ease some of the financial burdens for the family (treatment cost, upfront doctor/specialist bills, hospital stay, travel cost, living expenses, etc) and allow them to continue to spend more meaningful time together. Please include them in your prayers and help spread the word 

From loving friends,

Jerome and Family