Help with Ashley Robertson’s future ❤️
Hi all, my name is Richard Dunlop, I’m setting up this go fund me to help ease some financial stress for Ash and myself and to give ash the best chance of healing before the next step toward our future
Towards the end of 2019, after a year of planning a 3 day music festival to raise much needed funds for Suicide Awareness, the festival went ahead as planned and it was a great success. Ash had poured every ounce of effort and time into the event to help raise awareness of Suicide particularly in rural areas. Friends and colleagues who hadn’t seen Ash for some time had noticed that he didn’t look at all well. He put this down to the many long ours and hard work put into the event.
In early 2020, Ash decided to go to the doctor for a check up as he had been losing weight dramatically and was lethargic and feeling weak. After an examination and bloods were taken, he was sent for immediate X-Rays, MRI, CT and PET scans. These were done at a local radiology centre and Monash Nuclear Cancer Centre with Cancer being the prime suspect. In February He was diagnosed with non hogkins lymphoma, Several other problems were discovered and the future looked bleak. Surgery and treatment (Chemotherapy) went ahead in 2020 it was a scary, hard and painful time for us and those around us, at the end of the year, we decided it was time for a move in hope of making some happy memories and have a stronger focus on the future, what ever that may look like.
We found our dream home (a humble cottage) and packed up what little we hadleft. We had sold most of what we owned in 2020 including our car and furniture to help pay for everyday living expenses, medications etc as Ash was only able to work part time and I was helping with this. In January 2021 life was starting to look promising again and he was on track to return to work in February although only part time again. However, that would have helped cover everyday basic expenses.
Ash had mentioned that he was feeling weaker than usual during the move.
Two weeks after the move, he was feeling worse and thought he was just worn out from moving. Later that night he became increasingly worse and began to vomit continuous amounts of blood. Thinking it may settle down, and that he’d see the doctor in the morning, he tried to get some sleep. At 3 in the morning I called 000 as he was almost unconscious, incoherent and was going into shock. He was taken by Air Ambulance in a critical condition to The Western Hospital to attempt emergency life saving surgery to stop the internal ruptures that were killing him. I remember one of the doctors continually comforting me saying “I’m so sorry”, as they didn’t think he’d survive the flight let alone the surgery. He had to be given 5 units of blood before he arrived in Melbourne to keep him alive (his BP was 60/40). He survived the flight and the surgery and after several days in ICU he underwent further scans and tests and it was discovered that had portal vein thrombosis which caused the rupture and was now suffering End Stage Liver Disease with an very poor prognosis which means he will need a liver transplant, He was also diagnosed with (H.E) Hepatic Encephalopathy ( Brain damage caused by ESLD ) which effects speech, concentration, reasoning, balance, memory, muscle strength and causes confusion and hallucinations. Although there is medication for this, it is difficult to manage this form of H.E and Coma can occur without warning. Because of this disease, his personality changes without warning which makes day to day life extremely difficult. His specialist has said that it will take at least 12 to 18 months to recover from the ruptures alone. He is now unable to work or drive and is continually tired, in pain and lethargic although he doesn’t complain. He hasn’t been able to work since the start of the year and I am his full time carer and I know this effects him mentally as he has always been so independent and proud of working. Medications and his new diet are costly as is the travel for weekly and sometimes bi-weekly appointments in Melbourne ( 700km round trip ) He has to have surgery every 6 to 8 weeks to avoid another rupture as if he does rupture again, his chances of survival are minimal. His specialists continue to manage and work with him however improvements are slow.
We are good kind hearted people, the type of people who have and always will help others where we can, we give freely of ourselves, and while we don’t like admitting it, we need help ourselves. I’m hoping that there are people out there who can help to ease the financial burden in some way. We aren’t asking for the world but being in a situation where we don’t know where our next meal is coming from and only just surviving, is not living, we would love to have some time for ash to heal and get a good nights rest where we he isn’t stressing over finances, and get him well enough for the next step toward a better future, that would mean the world to us.
every share and contribution helps, and we are so thankful to each and every one of you. The kindness won’t stop with us....
