Support Our Family During Mum’s Transplant Journey

Howdy folks, my name is Brandon.

For the past few years, my incredible wife Ayanda (though many know her as Mary) has been fighting end-stage renal failure. Her kidneys are now functioning at just 10%. For almost two years, She's relied on peritoneal dialysis to survive. In simple terms, her kidneys can no longer filter out the toxins your body normally flushes out, so dialysis does that job for her. It’s been a lifeline, but it’s also a constant reminder of how fragile her health has become.

To make matters more challenging, Mary has battled type 1 diabetes since she was just 10 years old. Last year, she was approved for a combined kidney-pancreas transplant. This transplant isn’t just a medical procedure - it’s her chance at a new life. After the surgery, we can say goodbye to dialysis and that big old tube in her belly, and her insulin pump. She'll even be able to eat without worrying about side effects! But while this surgery offers hope, it also brings significant challenges for our family.

As her husband, I've done everything I can to support her while keeping our family afloat. I work full-time (from home, thankfully), take Mary to countless medical appointments, and care for our two amazing kids 8 and 11, specifically our son who's on the autism spectrum. Between specialist appointments for our son and Mary's medical expenses, our single income has been stretched beyond its limits.

Mary has tried desperately to find work to help - applying for everything for the last 2 and a half years, even casual retail jobs where she competed against hundreds of applicants (479 people for one position!). A short term Christmas job helped buy school supplies, but steady work hasn't come. She'd take any job over asking for help - that's the kind of strong, determined woman she is. Although tired and burned out from all of the behind the scenes work that goes into keeping her healthy, she's still keeping strong. It’s been disheartening, to say the least, but 6-12 months after her transplant, she'll be cleared to get back out there and try some more.

Here's where we need your help: when "the transplant call" comes, we'll need to relocate immediately from our home in Mackay to Sydney (with Sydney being the closest hospital for this rare surgery) for up to 6-8 weeks. While my parents will care for our kids here at home, keeping their lives as normal as possible, the distance will be brutal - especially for our son. His therapist insists he needs to see his mum after surgery to cope with his fear that she might not come home - which is an unfortunate, but very real possibility. Flights from Mackay to Sydney, accommodation near the hospital, and unexpected expenses will be overwhelming on top of everything else. These points being the main reason to set up this GoFundMe page. The cost of needing to fly and get accommodation on short notice is going to be harsh, and that's alongside keeping our usual Mackay life paid for, while splitting up the family and trying to keep myself and Mary covered in Sydney (although, thankfully, we will get limited assistance from the Government with such an extreme surgery and lengthy recovery).

For 18 months, I've taken on night shifts stocking shelves at the local Coles to save up, but the extra job led to a massive tax bill we weren't prepared for, and that doesn't even touch on the stress and burn out from all of those 16 hour work days. Now, with the transplant getting closer and closer, we're out of time to fix this alone.

I'm not good at asking for help - I'd rather work three jobs than see my wife worry - but this is bigger than us. Any donation, no matter how small, will help keep our family together during the hardest time of our lives. Most importantly, it will help our children see their mum when she needs them most - and when they need her most.

We're so grateful you've taken the time to read our story. Your support means more than we can ever express. Thoughts, Prayers, Shares - anything and everything is appreciated. Mary is just looking to get back to being the best mum she can be. She already puts in so much, with her limited capacity, and has so much more to give.

And while you're at it, are you a registered organ donor? Would you like to be? In 5 minutes you can help save a life using this form - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/australian-organ-donor-register

Australian Organ Donor Register

Cheers, Brandon