This fund has been created to support someone who has spent her life helping others.

Louisa is a much loved wife, mum, daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague who has dedicated the past 13 years to caring for people as a paramedic with the SA Ambulance Service. Whether helping patients through medical emergencies, supporting families during difficult moments, or simply offering kindness when it was needed most, caring for others has always been at the heart of who she is.

At just 35 years old, Louisa is also the devoted wife of Andy and loving mum to Alexis (4), Charlie (2) and Harry (12). Family means everything to her, and together they have built a life filled with love and a deep commitment to helping others.

Recently, Louisa and her family received the heartbreaking news that she has been diagnosed with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer that has spread to her liver and peritoneal cavity.

Since receiving this diagnosis, Louisa and her family have been faced with the devastating reality that their time together will be far shorter than anyone could have imagined. As you can imagine, life has changed dramatically for Louisa, Andy and their children.

Andy, Louisa's incredible husband, has also spent the past 14 years serving both the nation and the South Australian community through his roles in the Australian Army and the SA Ambulance Service's Emergency Support Service. He, too, will need the love, strength and encouragement of the community around him as he supports Louisa and continues to care for their three beautiful children.

They are now facing a future filled with treatment, specialist appointments and uncertainty, while doing everything they can to focus on what matters most – spending precious time together as a family.

As anyone who knows Louisa would expect, she is meeting this challenge with incredible courage and determination. But the reality is that the road ahead will place enormous emotional, physical and financial pressures on Louisa and her family.

We hope to ease some of that burden so Louisa and her family can focus on her treatment, their wellbeing and creating precious memories together. Funds raised will help with:

• Additional support services at home

• Travel and accommodation for specialist appointments and potential clinical trials

• Medications and treatment related expenses

• Food delivery and everyday living costs

• Creating meaningful family memories

• Unexpected expenses that arise throughout this journey

• Future support for Charlie, Lexie and Harry

For many years, Louisa has been there for people during some of the hardest days of their lives. Now, we're asking our community to be there for her.

Any donation, no matter the size, will make a meaningful difference. If you're unable to donate, sharing this page with family, friends and colleagues would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your kindness, generosity and support. Every donation, message and share will remind Louisa and her family that they are surrounded by a community that cares deeply for them.

With love,

Louisa's family, friends and colleagues ❤️

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Here is Louisa's story in her own words:

Less than a month ago, at 35yo, I had it all. The most gorgeous little family; my 2yo little boy, my 4yo little girl, my not so little 12yo step son, my 6yo fluffy groodle, my beautiful supportive loving husband, and the most gorgeous family and friends a girl could ask for... Almost 13years in my dream job as a Paramedic, super settled in my team with dream work partners.

I was slowly working through a hip stress injury and about to have my third laparoscopy for excision of Endometriosis. I'd had a steady increase in all my regular endo symptoms for approximately 6-12months prior- abdo pain, bloating, and some bowel stuff. Mum life is fairly relentless at the best of times, so feeling fatigued and nauseated and gaining weight didn’t seem out of place.

The endo surgery went well, plenty of endo excised as expected. I was also told I had adenomyosis. During the surgery they noted some nodules on my liver, around 4 over both lobes, but said it was likely a benign condition caused by excessive hormone use to manage my endo. I was immediately taken off all of my hormonal medications and booked for a liver MRI two weeks later to confirm, when all the gas they insert to blow up your belly during the surgery had dissipated. I was advised to consider a hysterectomy sooner rather than later, due to ceasing hormone management including contraception, the adenomyosis found, and the fact that our little family was complete. Recovery was the smoothest it had ever been and I was so grateful.

A week post my endo surgery I was called to come in, after the weekend, for some 'unexpected biopsy results'. It is routine for them to send off some of the excised tissue for testing but everything looked visually in line with purely endo. We spent the weekend wondering what that meant. On the Monday morning, we went for review with the gynaecologist and were advised that a few of the samples sent off from my peritoneal space had come back as adenocarcinoma of colorectal origin, so they were now also suspicious of my liver being in line with that. To say we were shocked to walk out of there with a diagnosis of metastatic bowel cancer is an understatement. We were absolutely devastated. Shocked. Scared. Worried. Anxious as hell.

I still needed to wait a week for the gas to dissipate to ensure follow up imaging was clear and accurate. The waiting and the unknown was excruciating. I finally had CT chest/abdo/pelvis which confirmed liver lesions were consistent with significant metastases, and despite knowing the primary was bowel, it wasn't yet located. I was called that night to go for a liver MRI the following day which further confirmed numerous hepatic mets, the largest two measuring 7.4cm x 4.7cm, and 4.6cm x 3.9cm.

Four days later we finally met with an oncologist to discuss results. Initial discussions were quite positive given my age, with a plan to commence chemotherapy fortnightly ongoing, and review at the two month mark with scans to assess progress and potential eligibility for resection of liver +/- bowel. There was a glimmer of hope, a very slight chance of this being curative despite how advanced it was.

2 days later I had my chemo port-a-cath inserted. I was not at all prepared for how uncomfortable it would be... It was brutal. I was also advised they needed to do a liver biopsy to get more tumour tissue for targeted treatment testing. The biopsy itself was tricky, my liver capsule was not my friend and gave me significant referred shoulder pain post procedure.

The following day, I again reviewed with oncology. This consult had a different vibe to the week prior.... I was advised that on further consultation, given the central location of my metastases around highly vascular parts of the liver, that they believe regardless of how chemo effects these growths, that it will be inoperable. As opposed to a goal of curative, we are now looking at a likely prognosis of 1-2years, with 5years being the absolute best case scenario. Terminal.

I am absolutely gutted and struggling to find the words. The kindness we have been shown has been overwhelming and please know we are beyond grateful. Every little bit has made the hugest difference and we are feeling the love and support big time. We are still processing this completely life changing thing in the lead up to starting chemo.

I'm scared. I'm worried sick for my babies but know they are surrounded by the best possible village as we navigate this. Watching my babies grow up for as long as I possibly can beside my incredible husband, my beyond special family, and my absolutely gorgeous friends is the best motivator I could have. The stubborn control freak in me is doing its best to just go with the constant ebbs and flows, but most importantly well equips me to fight this shit for as long as I possibly can ❤️

F**k cancer and f**k the odds