Nathan’s farewell ceremony.

That’s our Nathan. 19 years old. A beloved boyfriend, brother, son, and friend to many. He was in hospital for his diabetes pictured last year. You can tell how much he disliked time in hospital. We all know that because he cheekily was not afraid to tell us. 
On Thursday 21st december, late into the night, our beloved Nathan made a harsh decision to end his battles with type 1 diabetes since age 7 and other personal issues. To our shock, he had hurt himself so severely that the Royal Brisbane Women’s and Children’s hospital sent the helicopter to take him to the ICU Burns Unit for specialised treatment. They put him in an induced coma with plenty of pain relief to insert the life support required before his throat swelled and shut, and to keep him comfortable under the stress and pain level his body was enduring. They assessed him Friday morning and met with me (his older sister), and teleconferenced our mum. They told us the worst news we have ever heard. “He’s not going to make it. There is no way. No existing surgeries. He’s too severely damaged beyond healing.” His body was 95% covered in deep tissue burns. The outer damage was so irreparable, that they hadn’t even checked any inhaled damage, because it didn’t make a difference. We were told to arrange as many goodbye’s as possible that night and to let him go the next day, before his body gives up. We could never truly be ready to let him go, but on Saturday evening, we let him find pain free peace and leave hospitals once and for all. It was a decision made with an extremely heavy heart, with a lot of reluctance and questioning the specialist doctors before allowing it. We had no other choice. We played his favourite music and showered him with loving words in hopes he heard us in his coma. Then he was gone.
Now it’s time to arrange his celebration of life and big farewell with as many as he would want, but since he’s so young and it was so sudden, we don’t have funds put away to prepare for this, especially at Christmas time. I’m not one to ask for help, but for him, I would do anything. We need your support to give young Nathan what he deserves.