Hi, I'm Jack; a 34 year old father of 2 from Perth, WA.

In early 2024, the disease that has quietly plagued me for most of my life, Polycystic Kidney Disease, or PKD, finally reached its final stage: complete kidney failure. This led to my need to start dialysis, which, with its strict schedule of 40 minute sessions every 5 hours, eventually lead to my need to resign from my job in Dec '24. I was unable to provide full-time hours, and the company had already made many concessions by that point.

Thankfully, in January '25, I received a donated kidney for transplantation. This, however, while ultimately a blessing, brought with it a new raft of complications. Chief among these was the intensive schedule of check-ups, requiring me to attend hospital for about 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. Which days they were, were decided on the previous visit, so no reliable schedule can be set, so as well as being in recovery, I'm unable to provide any kind of reliable schedule to a potential future employer.

On top of that, a recent major complication has extended my expected recovery period from 3 months (mid April) to 5 months (late June), as I need further surgery. This is all time that I am unable to work in any reliable capacity. While my wife does work full-time, as a primary school teacher, this doesn't nearly cover our expenses, despite Centrelink declaring that any more than $750/week income is too much to be eligible for government assistance, and any medical disability needed to last for at least 2 years to count. So drawing on the taxes I've dutifully paid my entire adult life is not an option.

The point of this Gofundme is to supplement my wifes income, until I'm (hopefully) able to re-enter the workforce mid year. The primary use of any funds would be to cover bills and other payments, as, while my treatments are, mercifully, completely free, the time they take to conduct is not, so my earning potential, and thus my ability to cover expenses, has been greatly impacted.

A man's 30's are usually the time of his life used to focus on his career and start to build the life he wants for his family. This disease has taken that opportunity away from me, and I hope there are a few generous souls out there that are willing to donate even a little to ease the burden placed upon me far earlier in life than expected. I, my wife, and 2 little boys thank everyone who has taken the time to read this, and to even consider helping us.