Noah the Warrior

Noah was born with CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia). This is a life threatening defect in the diaphragm wherein it develops a hole, or hernia. The diaphragm is a thin sheet of skeletal muscle that, typically, separates the thoracic cavity (heart and lungs) from the abdominal cavity (liver, bowel, pancreas, spleen etc..). It also assists with breathing. Noah's journey from birth to his present 3 years has not been an easy one. He has had many trips to hospital and several major operations, which in themself, lead to more operations. As one problem is fixed, others arise. Noah has just spent 7 hours in surgery and is currently very ill. He is in the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. He has had a section of his bowel removed, but there is still a part of his bowel attached to his diaphragm. This cannot be removed. It is too dangerous. He has had multiple adhesions removed, as well, and has holes in his bowel that need correcting. His right lung has partially collapsed and he is struggling with his poorly functioning left lung. He is very unwell with an infection of unknown origin. He is a fighter, though. This a 3 year old boy who was walking around last week with his bowel so badly twisted that it was blue, in some areas. A person, unused to this level of pain, would be screaming in agony. Noah, unfortunately, has an immensely high pain threshold. He is the youngest of 4 boys. He lives with his family, including parents, Chantelle and Josh, in Regional Victoria (Bendigo). They are loving, caring, hard working people. But, it is almost impossible for either of them to work, at the moment (a regular occurrence). This is placing undue stress on their family. Chantelle founded "Noah's Hope", a charity that raises thousands for CDH research and awareness, every year. She does a marvellous job and is paid nothing for this. It is time to help this family. Please give any amount you can. Even $5.00 (the cost of a coffee) would help. Thank you in advance.