Please help fund private surgery&care for Kingston

UPDATE: (8th July 2023) I sincerely apologise for the delayed update and replies, I've been suffering really badly with a flare up for a while now, and in this last week or so, I've been close to incapacitated by illness and pain. This space is all about Kingston so I won't go into it in detail, but just as a brief overview - I take at least 33 medications and prescribed supplements a day, and my whole existence is basically balanced on minimising my symptoms to a liveable extent, but sometimes it just doesn't go my way, and I end up incredibly unwell for a while until I can pick myself up and dust myself off again. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience this causes and I'm so thankful for all the patience and well wishes.

So, back to our beloved boy! Kingston is continuing to see the excellent private concussion specialist in Melbourne who fully assessed his head injury trauma, grading him as having Grade 4, severe concussion, as well as informing us that he is currently still concussed. It is expected that he will enter the post-concussion recovery phase in a further 2-3 weeks or so. Poor kiddo is still having ongoing headaches, nausea, dizziness, and difficulties with his vision and balance, though the treatment is starting to help slowly and Kingston's symptoms are easing and improving.

It's still shocking to know that the plates of Kingston's skull have actually shifted due to the impact he suffered, and the effects of this on his growing brain can't be underestimated, so we're taking extra care to ensure that he recovers well from the head injury before he jumps back into school and "life" again.

It's truly astonishing that this all was swept aside in the public system due to severe underfunding, and we are so deeply, truly grateful to each of you for helping us to be able to get the best care for our beloved boy.

The recovery from the head trauma is likely to take up to 3 months, but we're holding onto hope that he'll heal more fully and sooner under expert care.

We also have had Kingston's appointment with the amazing orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in treating traumatic shoulder and arm injuries in adolescents (which is basically its own speciality because of the remarkable changes and growth already occurring in teenagers).

Unfortunately, the end of Kingston's collarbone is shattered into so many small fragments and shards that in its current state, is impossible to pin and plate together. The surgeon said our poor kiddo basically has a 'mushy' mass of swelling, torn ligaments and bone pieces in his right shoulder at present, which is difficult to treat. So, the next step now is to wait another 4 weeks, have further scans, see if any of the bone fragments heal together into larger pieces that can be reassembled surgically, and go from there. This means that Kingston needs to keep his right shoulder and upper arm carefully immobilised for a while longer yet. To help with the stiffness and muscle atrophy, especially as Kingston is right-handed, we'll be seeing a physiotherapist for some gentle strengthening rehabilitation to help ensure that Kingston doesn't lose too much ability during this time.

We also received another bit of a shock, again detailed to us by our wonderful GP, not the RCH - Kingston has some spinal damage in the thoracic (mid-back) region, and two of his vertebrae in particular have been compressed and have height loss/flattening on one side. Thankfully his spinal cord is safe, but we'll be seeking a specialist who can tell us how this will affect Kingston as he grows, and can help us treat the injury if needed. Scary to think this was overlooked in the public system, given the seriousness of it.

We are all so very grateful to all of you for your help and support that is helping us to access the extensive care that Kingston needs. We can't express how precious it is to us that we can give Kingston every chance to recover to full health, thanks to you. Your kindness will never be forgotten and is so appreciated.

There are so many people, children and adults alike, who are missing out on the care they need, primarily because of disgraceful hidden healthcare funding cuts. If you happen to have a platform or get chance - start conversations about healthcare funding. Tweet your local MP and ask them why people can't get the care they need, when they need it, in a country as fortunate as ours.

Unfortunately, we never know when that need will arise for ourselves or a loved one, and there's nothing more disheartening than finding that the health system isn't the reliable and comprehensive safety net we all expect it to be.

More updates to follow, but for now, I leave you as ever, with our deepest, heartfelt thanks x

UPDATE: Today (28th June 2023), Kingston saw an excellent private concussion specialist in Melbourne who fully assessed Kingston's head injury trauma, grading him as having Grade 4, severe concussion, as well as informing us that he is currently still concussed. No wonder the poor kiddo is having ongoing headaches, nausea, dizziness, and difficulties with his vision and balance. Thankfully, this remarkable specialist can help treat Kingston as he slowly recovers, helping us to manage his symptoms, as well as providing us with a plan for his recovery, which is very important to help us avoid further damage to his brain. It was quite astonishing to hear that the plates of Kingston's skull have actually shifted due to the impact he suffered. None of this was even considered at the RCH, and we are so deeply, truly grateful to each of you for helping us to be able to get the best care for our dear boy. The recovery from the head trauma is likely to take up to 3 months, but we're holding onto hope that he'll heal more fully and sooner under expert care.

We also have managed to get an appointment on Monday for Kingston to see a top orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in treating traumatic shoulder and arm injuries in adolescents (which is basically its own speciality because of the remarkable changes and growth already occurring in teenagers), and we will finally be able to get some clear, expert advice about repairing Kingston's shattered collarbone that isn't based on public hospital funding constraints.

Again, we are all so very grateful to all of you for your help and support. Your kindness will never be forgotten and is so appreciated. More updates to follow, but for now, I leave you with our deepest thanks x

UPDATE: After many hours, we were able to get a minor review of Kingston's CT and X-Ray scan results by a general orthopaedic surgeon at the RCH today (26th June 2023). Still not much to go off, but at least now we know that the end of Kingston's collarbone on the right hand side is broken into at least 7 jagged pieces. There is ligament damage (though thankfully one still intact!) and bone displacement and we've been sent home to await a phone call from a specialist surgeon as basically the hospital is overflowingly full and Kingston is not critically ill. We are seeking the care and advice of a recommended upper body orthopaedic surgeon for adolescents (as injuries heal differently in this age group).

I am also very concerned that we didn't receive a comprehensive concussion assessment beyond basic emergency clearance, and as Kingston is (understandably) experiencing ongoing head injury symptoms (including dizziness, nausea, migraines, fatigue), I have been able to obtain the care of an excellent private concussion specialist in Melbourne who will be able to fully assess Kingston, grade his head injury trauma and treat his symptoms, as well as providing us with a plan for his recovery, which is very important to help us avoid further damage.

This is all being made possible by each of you, so we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and generosity. Thank you so much for being there for us and helping our family through this rough time with our dear boy. We'll never forget it. Further updates to come, but in the meantime - thank you!!

My name is Amelia, and I am mother to two of the most incredible kiddos in the world (Kingston, almost 14, and Estella, 12).

Kingston and Estella are both miracle babies, and are beautiful, clever, kindhearted kiddos who are loved and appreciated by so many (with me at the top of that list, they are my life!).

Shockingly, one week ago (17th June), my beloved Kingston was hit by a 12 tonne dump truck while riding his bicycle, minutes away from the safety of our home and moments away from the safety of his grandparents’ home.

I’m sobbing as I write this, because by some miracle, Kingston didn’t suffer any life-threatening injuries, which is such an astonishing blessing.

However, he did suffer a head injury/concussion with amnesia, many extensive wounds/grazes across his body, and worst of all, a shattered right collarbone (officially called a distal comminuted clavicular fracture with displacement and inward angulation), plus of course the mental and emotional trauma that I think has yet to fully manifest.

Kingston was discharged from the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne on Monday of this week, after we faced long delays in getting scans and seeing doctors (due to it being the weekend and of course the ubiquitous overloading and underfunding of the entire health system). The RCH is a splendid institution and I’m very grateful to them, not least of which is because of my precious Estella’s long stay there during the pandemic with nerve damage and immune system dysfunction), but we were hurriedly discharged, literally rushed out of the room, being told that we needed to make way for the onslaught of flu patients the hospital is facing at the moment. While I fully understand and respect that all hospitals are running under enormous pressure at present, this lead to us not receiving a proper review with an orthopaedic surgeon before we were rushed out. Even in terms of concussion care, after Kingston passed the emergency neurological tests, the fact that he is still suffering amnesia, terrible headaches and dizziness/nausea was largely disregarded. I feel terrible as a mother that I didn’t do more, but as someone living with severe chronic illnesses that I struggle with daily, I was stressed beyond stress and didn’t feel I could speak up and insist on a clinical review at that time, not wanting to trouble overworked staff.

So now, after days of having to persistently ask the RCH to send Kingston’s CT and X-Ray scan results and reports to our lovely GP, he finally received them last night. After studying them in his own time, he called me to inform that Kingston’s shattered collarbone is not in fact ‘lined up’ correctly to be able to heal conservatively (immobilising arm for a number of weeks), and that the poor kid literally has a large chunk of bone floating under his skin above where it should be, and the tip of his collarbone is turned inward, having rotated under his flesh with the force he was impacted by.

There are varied opinions in the orthopaedic world about the best treatment for collarbone fractures, but at no point after Kingston’s scans did anyone at the hospital explain to us that Kingston’s fractures involved displaced pieces of bone, which almost always require surgical intervention, especially because at the age of 13-14 years, children’s bones begin to behave more like those of adults and are much slower to heal well, especially in cases of severe traumatic injury such as this.

I have been in contact with the RCH to advocate for my beloved boy, to have at least an orthopaedic surgeon review his case properly and urgently, but it’s looking like our best course of action is to seek private care through somewhere like the Epworth Hospital, which has a private paediatric ER, so that Kingston can access private care and get the surgery and concussion care he needs right away, as the longer we wait, the more likely it is that when the surgery happens, it will be more complex than it would have needed to be, as the injury tries to heal itself in the meantime, which would leave Kingston with a deformed shoulder and potentially a lifetime of pain and difficulty.

Here’s where it gets really tricky - because my (and to a lesser extent, Estella’s) chronic illnesses already cause our little family quite enormous financial strain, I simply can’t afford to cover the out of pocket costs to access private care for Kingston. I am so ashamed to have to ask you, dear friends, family and other kindhearted individuals to help us fund this care, because my own care costs so much. It literally costs over $50K-$80K a year for me just to exist (at a conservative estimate, depending on how many/what type of surgeries I need).

Kingston and Estella’s marvellous dad, Manny, works 3 jobs, around the clock, to support us and keep a roof over our heads and to cover the costs of my existence. We struggle regularly and I am so embarrassed to admit that all it takes is one more thing to go wrong, like this, and we’re in an impossible position.

I’d give anything to be able to just fund this care for my darling boy myself, but I cannot.

The Traffic Accident Commission (TAC) covers some of Kingston’s care in terms of wound dressings, travel, care in public hospitals and so on, but they cannot help us with lost earnings/everyday expenses, or the cost of seeking private care in order to have our beloved boy fixed up as soon as possible. We are so lucky to have this bit of support from TAC, and we are blessed to still have Kingston, and the love of our amazing family and friends. But we need just this little bit of help at this terrible time to get through with the best possible care for Kingston, as soon as possible.

I know that times are so hard right now, and I’m so sorry to have to ask, but anyone donating even just a few dollars would be so deeply appreciated by Kingston and our little family.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration, and please don’t hesitate to ask questions or reach out as needed.

With Love and Thanks,

Amelia, Manny, Kingston, and Estella.