Keep Keitha going/Millie needs her mama

Amidst the joy, any new parent knows how incredibly tough that first year is, but I'm still in shock from the year that we've had to face...

My name is Keitha Young and when I was 15 weeks pregnant I was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease, then just days later, I had to have my whole colon removed in life-saving surgery.

Miraculously and against so, so many odds my baby and I both survived.

Learning motherhood on top of all that we've gone through has been so testing, physically, emotionally and financially. Despite this, there are many moments of joy and to see Millie so healthy, we are continually grateful to have been blessed with such a resilient and brave daughter.


But since we nearly died, multiple times, I’ve been struggling with both my physical and mental health as I face challenges every day, navigating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Postnatal depression, managing this extremely severe case of Crohn’s disease and adjusting to the ileostomy bag installed in our emergency surgery, all while trying to take the best care of our baby that I can...

And with my ongoing health battles, I fear for my future and what is in store for Millie, so I’ve resolved that I need to ask for your help.

I’ve realised that I won’t get through this on my own and am reaching out humbly for financial support so that we can afford the treatments that will reset my immune system, getting me out of the danger zone and giving me a chance to get healthy again - so that I can be a better mama to Millie, not just barely surviving each day, but thriving once more.


How did I lose my whole colon while pregnant?!!
My case is globally unprecedented, so complex and would take more than I can begin to explain here, but briefly...
After good health all my life, I went into my first trimester feeling vital and well, but in Week 14 suppressed immunity, which is normal in pregnancy, meant that I had an excruciating flare up of a common gut bacteria ‘C-diff’. I was admitted to hospital and quickly deteriorated, barely conscious in Intensive Care, some days painfully excreting up to half a litre of blood into a bedpan.

We began fearing for our baby’s life and mine too.

Two days later we received the shocking news that I had Crohn’s disease for which I’d had no awareness or previous symptoms, probably triggered out of remission by the C-diff flare.

Then only three days later, I went into surgery. The surgeons had intended to only do keyhole surgery to see what the heck was going on but once inside me they saw that my large intestine had rapidly become so purple and gangrenous that it was falling apart, so they had to slice me down the middle to remove it.

They said that if they hadn’t, the next day I would’ve died.


We fought for our lives, for months...
Millie and I survived - 50 days in hospital and several months of post-op rehab to follow, the gruelling details and stories from which I would need a whole book to do justice...
Still, after all our suffering and fighting to be here, we made it against the odds to full term for the scheduled cesarean (to prevent damaging my remaining rectal stump) and I birthed our strong, brave daughter into this world.

But it’s been so tough on our family since then and we really need your support now.

Your donations will help save my life. Truly.

Mending my body + physical health.
Since my inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) diagnosis we’ve learnt that it’s likely I have the worst case of Crohn’s in the country!

To go from so healthy to this claim has been such a shock... But we’re starting to understand how environmental causes turned my immune system upside down during pregnancy when your immunity is particularly vulnerable.

Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune condition with no known cause and no known cure (in modern medicine) and while curing the ‘incurable’ may seem like a huge undertaking, I’m determined to do it with the help of an incredible healing team who’ve given me hope that we can cure this, or at least significantly decrease my high odds of further surgery.

I’m so grateful for modern medicine which truly saved our lives but I’m trying to change the prospect of a lifetime of immunosuppressant therapy which I’m currently on and the long term side effects of cancers, osteoporosis and more that can come with it.

  -(24 weeks pregnant, during our third stay in hospital)-

Healing my heart + mental health.
In a sad twist - with a new baby, with Brett caring for me and with me unable to work, we desperately need financial support from the government, but don’t get any as I’m a NZ citizen.

And I’ve lost sleep for over 6 months about whether or not to crowdfund but recently realised that I HAD to, that it was a matter of life or death for me, when I had an episode of complete overwhelm and breakdown and was talking to my husband about leaving this life behind for the second time in a couple of months...

It felt so cruel to have survived death and but then for life to feel too difficult to live...

We have since sought help from Lifeline, our GP and health professionals and I’m feeling a lot more seen in my need to work through the many layers of PTSD, processing the dramatic changes to my body and life, along with the postnatal depression that I deal with on a daily basis while trying my best to care for Millie.
So not only is my physical health on the line but my mental and emotional health have taken a huge toll.

Still, with your help I truly believe we’re capable of mending my broken body and spirit.


How your donations will be spent:
By consulting a number of health professionals we’ve made a plan to use a combination of treatments to heal and reset my immune system, avoiding likely surgery and encouraging my body to function well again, even without its large intestine.

These treatments also work on my mental and emotional body, healing the many layers of suffering, grief, loss and trauma that we’ve endured this past year, easing the weight of PTSD and postnatal depression.

I know that they work as I worked with them to help me heal in 2016 (PTSD from sexual abuse when I was 7 years old) and they’ve already helped me so far on this journey, but we’re now out of funds and need your help to see them through.

- Hakomi bodywork (2 weekly $100)
- Acupuncture (2 weekly $90)
- Counselling (2 weekly $50)
- Biometer reading + remedies (monthly $150)
- Herbal medicine, consults + inflammation management herbs ($200 month)

For one year of treatments that’s around $15,000, but speaking to other folks who’ve healed their autoimmune conditions, it seems to be a journey of many years, so any additional funds raised will contribute to my ongoing longterm treatment and fight to get better.

We also hope to be able to raise the funds for my immigration lawyer and Citizenship application fee (around $8,000) so that our family may be able to receive the financial support it needs during this rough patch before I return to health and can return to work.

Giving back...
Those who know me know that I dedicate myself to work that I feel deeply passionate about from teaching organic gardening to children, to running Seed Freedom Food Festival, and I still dream of creating seed, herbal and food sovereignty programmes within refugee communities and marginalised groups. While my most important job right now is raising our daughter, know that in whatever way I can, I will always give back.

So our family extends our deepest gratitude and appreciation for your donations that will help me to be here for those I love and those who I’m able to help.

Raising awareness...
I’ve tried to be honest and authentic about this journey on my instagram page @thepeacefulseed, everything from the realities of living with PTSD, to ileostomy bag life, to postnatal depression, to ways that the garden helps heal us... and will continue to raise awareness on IBD, trauma and mental health as I’m able, including in public forums like sharing our journey at the Crohn's and Colitis Association of Australia info night this September and at the National Gastro conference next year.

Our endless gratitude!
I can’t express how much you are saving our family with your kindness...
Truly friends, thank you.

Know that if you’re not able to cover one of my treatments, no donation is too small, every dollar counts to help me heal and we humbly accept whatever you can offer.
And if you’re unable to donate then we’d still appreciate you sharing my story on with your friends and families who may be able to help ours.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU dear ones, from the depths of our hearts.
You are saving my life, giving me a chance to heal and giving Millie her mama.

LOVE from the Young Clan,
Keitha, Millie, Brett and Toffie xx