Joe's fight against Leukaemia

Life can change in a minute... July 17th was that day for my daughter Kellie‘s family. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and Joe (my daughter's husband) was playing a round of golf with mates when he received a phone call from the doctor. The doctor said something wasn't right with the results from a blood test he had the day before and he has to go to the emergency department at the base hospital;

A few hours later Joe was told he had leukaemia and was sent to Townsville via the Royal Flying Doctors.

The next few days were a blur of ups and downs for the entire family.

In the blink of an eye their whole world changed.. Joe has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia or AML. He has a major fight ahead of him and has to go through a lot of intense rounds of chemotherapy and this may take a minimum of 7 months to 2 years.

Their older children are staying in Mackay and are being looked after in the family home by friends so they can continue their schooling and Kellie is home schooling the younger children with her in Townsville so she can be close to her husband.

Kellie also has her own medical issues she struggles with and so do the children. Their daughter has epilepsy and has increased seizure's due to the stress of seeing her dad unwell. Their youngest son has just been diagnosed with ASD level 2 and their second youngest son has migraines and is on medication to try prevent them. All which need specialist appointments.. Kell has been commuting back and forth between Mackay and Townsville to make those appointments and doing it over the phone where she can.

Joe, Kellie and the family are slowly trying to come to terms with their new reality and hoping for lots of positive news along the way. They are extremely grateful for the support, care and treatment Joe has received in the hospital - all his doctors, nurses and support workers have been amazing. They also appreciate everyone who has reached out, it means so much that you are all there for him. They never ask for any help... If you know my daughter or her husband... you will know how beautiful, kind and caring the family truly are.. They will do anything for anyone.. Joe's always been a hard working man, enjoying his job at the local council and Kellie loving her job in aged care. But unfortunately they both can't work at the moment and that brings financial and emotional stress to everyone involved especially the person who is going through this horrible illness. Although we are incredibly lucky to live in a country with outstanding health care, the world is still going on around them and there are still many bills and out of pocket costs to be payed.

That's why we are starting this Go Fund Me on their behalf, whatever donation you can make will help lighten the load for this family. We are hoping to raise enough money to ensure that any financial burden is the least of their worries and that Joe is able to get on with the important job of getting well and beating this cancer.

We also understand that times are tough for everyone so you can help in other ways. You can register to donate blood or sign up to be a bone marrow donor. There is so many people like Joe that need your help.

Please keep Joe in your prayers as he heads into his 2nd round of chemo this coming Monday the 30th of August.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everyone's love and support during this very hard time.