Neighbours in Need
Donation protected
We first met Shamsi and Dave when they moved in next door, after initial introductions you could tell how generous, loving and hardworking they were. Nothing was ever too much and they had a habit of enfolding everyone they met into their family. We were no exceptions!
After being treated poorly by their landlord, they moved nearer to work to reduce their commute time as Dave was the Head Chef at a successful Mexican Tapas Restaurant. Running a restaurant is a hard life at the best of times, late nights, working more hours than the day gives and to top it off, Shamsi had to have her Chemo every week.
Life was already tough for this family until one day Dave fell ill unexpectedly just before Xmas 2018 and was struggling to breathe. Shamsi being the caring partner she is, stayed with him in the hospital while tests were ran to find out the issue. After many weeks where the hospital were unsure of the problem, they sent Dave home with an Oxygen tank to see how he went. Shamsi spent initial weeks monitoring Dave day and night whilst making time to recover from her Chemo so she stayed strong for Dave and her daughter. During the day she looked after Dave's every need as he didn’t have the energy to get out of bed and required constant oxygen.
The initial devastation!
After an additional stay in hospital when Dave had a turn for the worse, he was finally diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and doctors declared he would need a lung transplant. Shamsi and the family were devastated, everything had been snowballing and the bad luck was never ending. Despite Pulmonary Fibrosis normally progressing over a few years, it seems Dave was extremely unlucky to get from the first symptoms to the transplant stage all in a matter of weeks over the Xmas period. Watching the dramatic decline in his health hit the whole family, but all any of us could do was watch and wait. Now that the hospital have answers for them, they could focus on getting Dave strong enough for transplant. With Dave’s wage not coming in due to his ill health, the financial burden was starting to get heavy.
2019 was supposed to be a fresh start for the family to focus on getting Dave better now that the official diagnosis was made, the plan of action for a transplant was being finalised, they just needed to keep Dave strong while he waited, but unfortunately life was to deal another emotional blow to Shamsi and her family.
The second devastation
Over the New Year celebrations, the Owner of the restaurant decided to close the doors without notice, so even if Dave recovered he had nothing to go back to, their future was crumbling around them, all while Dave was in hospital being assessed for the lung transplant list. Dave was struggling to deal with everything going wrong and it was affecting his strength to get better. For us, to see this family going through so much and never getting a break, broke our hearts and We felt we needed to do something to lessen some of the burden. Being there for the family for emotional support is the easiest thing for us to do, we can make time for our friends when they are in need, but unless we win the lottery, the financial burden of no income coming in while Shamsi cares for Dave, travels to specialist hospitals, looks after her daughter and deals with her own health issues is enough to break anyone. This is something we have very little control of but we can make a big difference if their lives were a little easier with all your help and support
I’ve set this Go Fund Me page because I’m sure all the friends and family that have been touched by Shamsi and Dave's heart warming, caring and generous nature cannot believe how much this family has been going through and any financial help to support them through this tough time and alleviate Dave's worry would be amazing for them to receive and will allow them to deal with the fast paced, ever changing circumstances on Dave's road to recovery!!
They are a proud family but there is nothing wrong with accepting a little help from us all. I think they truly deserve this help in what will no doubt be their biggest battle ahead.
Update: Shamsi and Dave are truly in awe of everyone's well wishes, support and donations and wants you all to know how humbled and grateful they are with all the support and messages of love they have received at this difficult time.
After being treated poorly by their landlord, they moved nearer to work to reduce their commute time as Dave was the Head Chef at a successful Mexican Tapas Restaurant. Running a restaurant is a hard life at the best of times, late nights, working more hours than the day gives and to top it off, Shamsi had to have her Chemo every week.
Life was already tough for this family until one day Dave fell ill unexpectedly just before Xmas 2018 and was struggling to breathe. Shamsi being the caring partner she is, stayed with him in the hospital while tests were ran to find out the issue. After many weeks where the hospital were unsure of the problem, they sent Dave home with an Oxygen tank to see how he went. Shamsi spent initial weeks monitoring Dave day and night whilst making time to recover from her Chemo so she stayed strong for Dave and her daughter. During the day she looked after Dave's every need as he didn’t have the energy to get out of bed and required constant oxygen.
The initial devastation!
After an additional stay in hospital when Dave had a turn for the worse, he was finally diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and doctors declared he would need a lung transplant. Shamsi and the family were devastated, everything had been snowballing and the bad luck was never ending. Despite Pulmonary Fibrosis normally progressing over a few years, it seems Dave was extremely unlucky to get from the first symptoms to the transplant stage all in a matter of weeks over the Xmas period. Watching the dramatic decline in his health hit the whole family, but all any of us could do was watch and wait. Now that the hospital have answers for them, they could focus on getting Dave strong enough for transplant. With Dave’s wage not coming in due to his ill health, the financial burden was starting to get heavy.
2019 was supposed to be a fresh start for the family to focus on getting Dave better now that the official diagnosis was made, the plan of action for a transplant was being finalised, they just needed to keep Dave strong while he waited, but unfortunately life was to deal another emotional blow to Shamsi and her family.
The second devastation
Over the New Year celebrations, the Owner of the restaurant decided to close the doors without notice, so even if Dave recovered he had nothing to go back to, their future was crumbling around them, all while Dave was in hospital being assessed for the lung transplant list. Dave was struggling to deal with everything going wrong and it was affecting his strength to get better. For us, to see this family going through so much and never getting a break, broke our hearts and We felt we needed to do something to lessen some of the burden. Being there for the family for emotional support is the easiest thing for us to do, we can make time for our friends when they are in need, but unless we win the lottery, the financial burden of no income coming in while Shamsi cares for Dave, travels to specialist hospitals, looks after her daughter and deals with her own health issues is enough to break anyone. This is something we have very little control of but we can make a big difference if their lives were a little easier with all your help and support
I’ve set this Go Fund Me page because I’m sure all the friends and family that have been touched by Shamsi and Dave's heart warming, caring and generous nature cannot believe how much this family has been going through and any financial help to support them through this tough time and alleviate Dave's worry would be amazing for them to receive and will allow them to deal with the fast paced, ever changing circumstances on Dave's road to recovery!!
They are a proud family but there is nothing wrong with accepting a little help from us all. I think they truly deserve this help in what will no doubt be their biggest battle ahead.
Update: Shamsi and Dave are truly in awe of everyone's well wishes, support and donations and wants you all to know how humbled and grateful they are with all the support and messages of love they have received at this difficult time.
Organizer and beneficiary
Claudia Carr
Organizer
Shamsi Kabbara
Beneficiary
