<div><strong>This is Lewis, the most incredible young human. He has a resilience and quiet courage that belies his 16 years, but that is being really tested at the moment. At the age of 5 Lewis was diagnosed with a severe genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). Right now, Lewis is at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne following his fourth cardiac arrest, with a very long and challenging road to recovery ahead.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a genetic condition that changes the anatomy of the heart, specifically thickening the muscle (septum) that separates the left and right lower chambers. While in an average person the septal thickness is around 11-13mm, in mild cases it can be 14-16mm. Lewis's case is severe: the thickness is 30mm. This puts immense strain on his heart.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Lewis suffered his first cardiac arrest in March 2019 at a beachside park in Altona. Fortunately, his parents were prepared and were carrying an external defibrillator. After 90 seconds and one life-saving shock, Lewis was saved and rushed to hospital. Following this, he underwent open heart surgery to implant an Internal Cardio Defibrillator (ICD).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In February 2024 and June 2024, Lewis suffered another two cardiac arrests, saved on both occasions by two shocks from his ICD. Just a few months ago, on Easter Thursday, he faced yet another serious heart event – not a full arrest, but with heart attack-like symptoms – and he remained conscious through it all. This left him very weak, struggling to walk even short distances, and it has been a very slow recovery at home.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Unfortunately, on the morning of Thursday, June 20th, Lewis suffered his fourth cardiac arrest at home. He was rushed to hospital and is now under the expert care of the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne – a stay that is expected to last months, not just weeks. Lewis’s case is complex. His medical team are reviewing all options and engaging a multidisciplinary group of specialists to care for Lewis over the next few months and bring him back to health.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Lewis is known for his incredible bravery, his kindness and his cheeky sense of humour. He loves his sports, and despite restrictions due to his condition – no running, cycling, swimming or physical exertion – his passion remains unquelled. He's a proud Richmond Football Club member, an avid NBA fan, and a keen follower of the NFL. He hopes to study Sports Science and pursue coaching. He also loves his music, and can often be heard playing his guitar. Most of all, Lewis loves his friends and family, and spending time with them. This makes his extended stay in hospital all the more challenging.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>His friends and loved ones have seen first hand how much strength and resilience this journey demands of the whole family. We think they are amazing. But it has been incredibly challenging and there is a long road ahead. His parents are now balancing their time between homelife in Ballarat and the RCH in Melbourne to ensure that Lewis has someone with him every step of the way.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We want to rally a wave of support around them during this difficult and uncertain period. There will be significant costs during Lewis's hospital stay and beyond. Our goal is to raise funds to help alleviate the financial burden of this extended medical crisis as well as to help plan for the future.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>All funds will be managed transparently by his parents, Neil and Stephanie Wilson, to support Lewis’s ongoing care. This will include travel and accommodation expenses for his parents over the coming months while Lewis is at the RCH. In addition, his family will establish a fund to provide longer-term financial support for Lewis's needs as he finishes school and starts planning his future.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Your contribution, no matter how small, will make a huge difference in Lewis’s journey and enable his family to focus on the most important things. If you're unable to donate, please consider sharing this campaign widely with your friends, family, and networks. Spreading Lewis's story is just as vital in helping us rally a community of support around him. </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>You can also send messages of encouragement to Lewis and his family, offer practical help to them if you're local, and keep them in your thoughts. Thank you for being an important part of Lewis’s road to recovery!
</div>

Amanda Rampersad

Anonymous

Rachael Williams

Matt Dehamel

Nitesh Arabolu

Rajinikanthan Seshadri

Andreas Ludwig

John Varano

Rowan McCarthy

Nick Chaperon

Michael Fagan

Daniel Cassar

Belinda Forsyth

Mary Lou Lauria

Support Lewis on his long road back to health

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Just $507$ to go! Make an impact.

Support Lewis on his long road back to health

Just $507 to go!
Make an impact.