Leonardo our brave fighter

I am organising this fundraiser on behalf of my brother, Luke and his partner, Sophie.

Nothing prepares you for the news that your perfect newborn has a genetic disorder, especially a life-limiting one that will impact their entire life. My heart hurts for them and I’m doing this to alleviate as much stress from them as I can.

https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.au/about-cf/what-is-cf

On the 10.11.22 Sophie Jackson & Lucas Boyle gave birth to my nephew, Leonardo William Boyle in the Manning Base Hospital in Taree. He was deemed perfectly healthy, but tiny- weighing in at just over 5lbs, which was no surprise considering he was born at 36 weeks.

2 days later, Sophie realised there was something wrong when Leo still hadn’t passed any meconium. After a few tests it was discovered that he had a ruptured bowel and needed to be airlifted to John Hunter Hospital for emergency, life saving surgery.

A laparotomy was performed to repair Leo’s ruptured bowel and a bypass was put in place. Leo now has a stoma bag and will require more surgeries in the near future.

After his surgery, Leo was placed in a induced coma for 3 days and doctors began to look into the cause of his ruptured bowel.

Testing found that Leo has Cystic Fibrosis, a rare, life threatening disorder that impacts the lungs, digestive system and other major organs in the body.

Leo is currently in the NICU at John Hunter Children's Hospital. Due to his CF, he is struggling to put on weight (currently weighing less than he did when he was born) because he’s unable to absorb nutrients.

John Hunter Hospital is 2 and a half hours from Luke and Sophie’s home in Taree. They have recently been told there’s no more space in the emergency accomodation and will have to find their own living arrangements. Leo could be in hospital for weeks or months, depending on how things go. Even after discharge, Leo is looking at a number of surgeries and ongoing visits to medical facilities for CF treatment.

My brother is self employed and has had to take time off to be with Sophie and Leo, causing them huge financial strain. I know times are tough for everyone at the moment, but any donation big or small will be a massive help. Any money raised will go towards travelling, ongoing bills, rent and emergency accommodation ❤️❤️❤️❤️