Madeline (78 years old) (Also known as Mal, Gran & Mum) arrived in Australia on a 12 month holiday Subclass 600 visa in April 2023, after 10 years of not seeing her family. She was so excited to come to Australia, as we have a few big birthday celebrations in the family this year and she was so desperate to come and share them with her grandchildren. The covid lock downs and travel restrictions prevented her from coming to visit any sooner.
On the 14th of June, Mal got up to start her day as usual, when she had a major stroke from a 6mm cerebellar clot in her brain. Our children were home with her at the time thankfully, and managed to call for medical help on triple 000. She was transferred to hospital where the CT scans discovered her catastrophic cerebellar clot.
To explain what stroke she had - "A cerebellar stroke occurs when there is bleeding or blockage of a blood vessel in part of the brain called the cerebellum, affecting healthy blood flow to the area. Cerebellar strokes are dangerous and may cause serious complications both because of the cerebellum's location and its involvement in physical movements and cognition"
The stroke has left Mal completely bedridden, severely disabled and needing full-time care. She is paralysed on her whole left side, and she is unable to eat, swallow, drink, talk properly - we only understand basic words, walk, sit, or stand etc. and the challenge we are facing is that she currently has no Government support not being a resident or Citizen of Australia, shes on a visitor Subclass 600 visa. Her hospital bills are piling up as she is required to stay in the Stroke unit at Canberra Hospital, we have also been told that once she is stable enough to leave, she will require further extensive and lengthy rehabilitation to get back some of her most basic human motor skills.
We are reaching out for financial help and support for a very difficult and complex situation, to help us support Mum/Mal. She doesn’t have any other family support available to her in South Africa nor will she be in any condition to be able to fly back in the foreseeable future. She came from very poor living conditions back in her home country, so we are doing everything we can to give her the best support and care she deserves. Her welfare is a humanitarian concern at this stage. We have no where else to turn for help, so we are reaching out to the community for any help.
The funds we are hoping to raise, are for her medical equipment and ongoing rehabilitation costs, as well as obtaining a medical visa (via an immigration lawyer) for her to stay in Australia with her family, while she continues to receive the care she so desperately needs. She has had the PEG Feeding system installed now, there will be monthly ongoing fees for her feeding cartridges and replacement tubes for the feeding machine. We have been researching our options to get setup with home care, as she will not be able to stay in hospital much longer, with no government funding, this makes it very challenging to help support her medical needs. We will need to obtain "at home" medical equipment to be able to support her severe disability, as well as potentially a full time carer for her. ?
Any help and support would be much appreciated by Mal and her family. Its extremely heartbreaking and difficult to see someone you love in this state. Nothing in life can prepare you for this type of event. As a family we are eternally grateful for any help and support.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who has already donated to Mal's cause. May you and your families all be blessed in abundance for your kindness and generosity.
Thoughts and prayers for all the family. Much love to Mal ??