Felix needs your help with the cost of Type 1 Diabetes.

Hi all, thank you for being here reading this - this is Jess, a longtime friend of Ellissa and Cody. I am organising this fundraiser on behalf of Felix and his family in order to alleviate some pressure from the staggering financial burden that comes with a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis in Australia. This is a lifetime journey, and we hope to support Felix, Ellissa and Cody as much as we can.

Sadly this week, right before his second birthday Felix was taken to the doctors very unwell, glucose was found in his urine and he was immediately rushed to ICU where he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

This was a very unexpected and heartbreaking shock, with a huge journey of learning and navigating the medical system and its costs in order to give Felix a good quality of life as he grows up.

Unfortunately, the immediate costs of this diagnosis are well over $10,000, due to the need of an insulin pump, insulin and equipment. These pumps are costly, they are not government subsidised, and they require replacement every 4-5 years. The average cost per year to navigate Type 1 Diabetes in Australia according to Diabetes Australia is upwards of $4,000 rising as much as $17,000 a year, a total minimum cost of around $90k for a child aged 1 to treat this to age 18 - which brings considerable pressure to the families dealing with this. To read more about Diabetes in Australia: Diabetes Australia

The Situation Right Now:

Felix is stable right now, they are trying to lower his sugar levels and ketones. Once everything is balanced, Felix and his family will create a treatment plan with an endocrinologist. As of last night, Felix was allowed to have his first meal and was moved out of the ICU to a ward where he will stay until at least Tuesday. Cody and Ellissa are currently navigating centrelink, private health funds, waiting lists for pumps and more. With Ellissa needing to take time from work to care for Felix full time for at least 5-6 weeks, there is a considerable immediate and ongoing financial pressure on this young family.

As their community of friends and family, we would love to invite you to donate whatever you can and share this far and wide to show your love and support - together we can hopefully make this journey a little bit easier for little Felix and his Mum and Dad.