Young at Heart - Forever Young

Hello All I am of the wife and mother of this man children in this picture. Patrick Ringdahl. Where do I begin. It has been a year of up and downs but here goes.  Patrick  is a young man of 32 years old. Patrick was born in 1986 in Brisbane city and was born with a with a congenital heart disease known as Epstein disease was given 2 weeks to live back in 1986 and was told by doctor’s to take him home to die. Patrick and his family got through the early few weeks and this turn into months then into years. Patrick was a happy child growing up and every day that went pass was a blessing and miracle that he was still alive.  At the age of 9/10 Patrick became very ill and need to have open heart surgery that was performed at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane (TPCH) to correct his valve. They replaced his valve with a St Jude value and he was advised that this would only last 10 years that he would need another one. The surgery was performed under a few doctors at TPCH and Patrick main cardiologist . He has been looking after Patrick from a child. Patrick recovered well from surgery and got on with his life with his yearly follow ups to ensure the valve was working and doing well. Patrick was a keen sports person and defend all odds and went against doctors wishes. He played basketball in high school went on to win for his senior year and cricket. Also he played NRL, and Netball. Then Patrick went on to pursue his career as carpenter which he truly enjoys.

Then in 2008 when Patrick was 21 he became sick again and it was suggested that a pacemaker be placed which he had and made a full recovery from this procedure. Patrick met his now wife Donna in the January of 2009. Donna was from Ireland and here on a holiday Visa. She met Patrick in O’Malleys bar in Brisbane City and the had a connection. In February 2012 Patrick and Donna got engaged. Then in April 2013 Patrick and Donna received the devastating news that Patrick had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma borderline stage 4 and started treatment because with Patrick having a weak heart he had to get a special chemotherapy. We were booked in for 6 rounds and after 2 rounds we had to do another PET scan to see if the chemo was working and thank god it was. We completed Patrick treatment in November 2013 and we haven’t looked backed since he will be 5 years’ cancer free in November 2018.  In 2014 Patrick and Donna got married overseas in Donna home country in Ireland they had a big celebration with their family and friends. Then in May 2015 Donna discovered she was pregnant with their 1st child. Lily Danielle Ringdahl was born on 6th of March 2016 and our little family was complete. Lily has brought us so much joy and happiness and she is a daddy’s girl. Then  in February discovered a little miracle she was pregnant with our 2nd baby. Who is due in 18th of October 2018. Around the same time poor Patrick health was on the decline, Patrick a young fit man and a carpenter by trade was struggling day in and day out with his work and having constant pain in his chest, given all that Patrick health has been over the years he was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. After being admitted to hospital over and over again to be told there was nothing wrong with him and sent home. The on 7th of August 2018 Donna had to beg Patrick to hospital as he came home from work and told me that he blacked out at work and he was feeling shortness of breath and his pain in his chest was getting worse and just from talking to me his lips were blue, I begged him to go and I asked him to do for his kids as I was worried he would have died in the bed. He finally agreed. Patrick is still in hospital with ongoing tests, we were giving the devastating news 2 weeks ago that Patrick is in desperate  need of heart transplant.  We are waiting for a heart to become available and it will be a crazy few months and the road to recover will not be easy for all of us.  

Any donation will help Patrick and his young family cover bills, medical cost and day to day expenses to look after and care for Patrick.