Hi, Jess and Cody here.

Our beautiful sister Kylie was a Registered Nurse. She was healthy with a beautiful family and loving Husband Jeff, who was running his own business. Together, they were doing what they could to build their forever home whilst living in a unfinished shed/granny flat on the property. Last year they had a surprise pregnancy, Kylie at 39 years old. Everything went well with the birth and pregnancy, and they gave birth to their fourth child together, beautiful little Willow, in October. A few weeks after the birth, Kylie was hospitalised with a bad case of mastitis. She was finally out of hospital, but still feeling extremely unwell. They were under the impression it was still the mastitis. But then, she began losing eye-site in one eye, her legs and arms became weak, her body ached and tingled. She was in pain and so weak. She was unable to do many things such as hold a coffee, zip a zipper, but the most heart breaking thing, she couldn’t even hold her newborn baby without assistance. After many tests, and hospital trips, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Still unwell, she was flown to John Hunter, to treat another flare up. Due to the characteristics of this flare up, the medical team were able to correctly diagnose her with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder. 
NMO is a rare, severe autoimmune disorder in which white blood cells and antibodies damage the optic nerve, spinal cord, and rarely, the brain. This disease is incurable and debilitating, but the medical team she is working with in John Hunter are trying what they can to try prevent further flare ups. Since Willows birth, Kylie has spent more time in hospital, then out. She struggles to walk, mostly requiring assistance from a wheelchair or walking stick, she has many falls, she suffers with nerve pain 24/7. With every flare up, her body receives permanent debilitating damage. Jeff had to become her full time carer, and a full time dad. Kylie has attempted 4 types of treatments for this awful disease, with them all being unsuccessful. She is now being treated with chemotherapy and has been told off her neurologist she will never practice as an RN again because of the damage this disease has caused to her brainstem. As you can imagine, this is putting a lot of pressure on them financially with neither of them receiving a proper wage, Kylie now on a disability payment and Jeff doing odd jobs when he is able to. It is their dream to one day be able move their family of 6 out of the small unfinished granny flat, into their forever home, but this is becoming impossible with the constant travel and medical costs. This family is so deserving of some assistance, if you can help in anyway at all, no matter how small, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you