Mother of five and grandmother of 4, Stella started working with us late last year as a Disability Employment Consultant, assisting people diagnosed with mental illness.  Stella had left her job in real estate because she wanted to help people who are in need.  Stella had an idea to start a fitness group for our participants but her right ankle had started to swell.  Stella had been to the doctors over the last 20 years who had said it was fluid in her ankle and nothing to worry about but it continued to swell at a rapid pace.  When she went to the doctors they sent her for a CT scan and discovered a mass of tumours. Subsequent MRI and visits to a specialist orthopaedic surgeon still provided little information to what this was.  She was sent for two biopsies, one of the foot and another they found in her groin. On Monday she got the results.  Luckily the lump in her groin is just a lump but the swelling in her foot is cancer.  Stella was confronted with the news that she will need to have the lower part of her leg amputated in one month.


Stella is kind, caring and very funny.  When she came to work on Tuesday and told us the news she cried but was still telling jokes through the tears and trying to focus on the positives.  Stella has 5 kids, 2 of which are only 10 and 13 years old who stay with her every second week.  Stella spends hours volunteering on her kids basketball teams each weekend.  It gives her joy to watch her children enjoy sport.  Stella had recently moved into share accommodation to try and save money but her house mate has asked her leave as she doesn’t like the kids coming over.  Stella’s mum lives in aged care so can’t have her stay with her for any long period of time.  Stella will need to take time off work for her operation and recovery. 


Stella’s said she is most worried about how she is going to pay her bills.  Collectively we all thought “this is something we can help with and maybe others will too”.  She will need to learn to walk again, spend time in a wheel chair and be fitted with a prosthetic leg.  If we can raise enough money to pay her rent in a new place for a few months what a relief that would be for Stella!  But what if we could also raise enough money for a wheel chair and prosthetic? That would really be a great help!  She will also need modifications made to her car because she will lose her right foot.  So we’ve set the limit at $10,000 and are hoping we can get as close as possible.  Please help by donating, no amount is too small or too big!