Support Leigh Mathew's stroke recovery

If anyone knows Leigh, you can attest to her fierce independence, strength and deep drive to do good in the world - to benefit others. Now it’s our turn to send some good energy her way.

 

As many of you may know, Leigh has suffered major strokes over the past few weeks. This was off the back of eight months of continued illness/health complications, including pericarditis & some severe adverse autoimmune responses to both Covid vaccines and the COVID19 virus. What we know right now is that the cause of the major strokes was a carotid artery dissection which likely happened two weeks ago. We are lucky to still have her with us, but we want to do all we can to support her recovery and wrap her in love during this 180-degree life flip.

 

Leigh is a 41-year-old mother of two, partner, daughter, sister and friend to many. She is intelligent, deeply committed and strong. But right now, she needs care, rehabilitation, social supports and to know and rely on the strength of others. She is currently unable to be alone, or sadly parent her kids, drive, walk beyond a few steps and is struggling with sensory input. This means she is currently spending most of her time in a dark and quiet room.

 

This fundraiser has been set up to support Leigh’s rehabilitation and alleviate some of the stress from financial pressures. Leigh has been transferred to NSW to be under the care of her partner Mel (who is also a single mum of two kids). Ideally, we would love to get Leigh access to an inpatient care or day program to support her rehabilitation. She is now on unpaid leave pay; at this stage, it could be some time before she returns to work. Accessing Centrelink support will take a few months and may require permanent disability status.

 

This money will be used to cover the costs of medical bills, her rent, school fees, flights for her kids, and day-to-day living expenses. This will mean she can focus on recovery without worrying about ending up with huge debts. Any donation you can offer is energy, support and love sent in the form of a tangible and practical contribution to her wellbeing and recovery.

 

For those who don’t know too much about Leigh, here is a snapshot

 

Leigh has spent much of her life serving others, working to protect children from abuse, harm and exploitation across the globe. She recently started a new job as the Director of Impact at Caritas. Leigh and her partner Mel have four children aged between 4-12, who are 50/50 shared between co-parents.

 

Leigh’s stroke recovery story so far

 

Currently, Leigh is in NSW in the care of her partner, Mel. The healing from the artery dissection still continues and could take at least 6 weeks to heal. This remains very painful. The strokes were in the parietal and occipital lobes, impacting speech, vision, and body function, along with some cognitive function. We are hopeful all these impacts will be rehabilitated, and Leigh will return to her bright shining self one day soon.

 

Leigh’s kids will need to remain in VIC while they finish the school year, but there are plans to fly them over to see her when they can. She will be missing them deeply, and this recovery journey will undoubtedly come with some emotional ups and downs as Leigh adjusts to her new normal.

 

In medical terms, she is now experiencing spatial disorientation, including problems with depth perception and navigating front and back or up and down, an inability to recognise the left side of her body, a loss of proprioception causing misjudgment in movement and balance, and hypersensitivity to noise (sensory overload). These issues can contribute to extreme levels of anxiety, PTSD and often, like many stroke survivors, clinical depression.

 

What we can do to help

 

As a community of support and love, I hope we can ease the financial burden to assist this brilliant, brave, and exceptional woman, mother, friend, and powerhouse change agent extraordinaire to get back on her feet.

 

Instagram: @_leighmathews

 

https://www.leighmathews.com