Gordon & Cheryl Denton

In May 2019, Gordon Denton was diagnosed with Spasmodic Dystonia. This came about as a result of being admitted to St Vincents Hospital after being found collapsed on Central Station. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He had been having a coughing episode and stopped breathing. Spasmodic Dystonia is a malfunction of a neurotransmitter in the brain that talks to all your muscles in your body and tell them what to do. The malfunction was in Gordon's vocal cords. When having the coughing episode his vocal cords had closed off.

He started treatment with a team of neuro doctors where he was to attend a clinic at St Vincent's and was given a botox injection into his neck on both sides. The idea was to paralyse the vocal cords enough to leave them open so he had an airway when his throat spasmed. This originally worked but only lasted 2 months. Gordon started having the coughing episodes again. They can be triggered by smoke, drinking a sip of water, eating, talking, walking from one room to another, laughing or just breathing in the wrong way.

Gordon's attacks continued to occur quite frequently and more dangerously every day, with him having anything from 3 to 8 attacks a day each lasting over 30 minutes. On the 2nd of November, Gordon experienced multiple respiratory arrests where he stopped breathing and was unconscious, the worst being that he was unresponsive for approximately an hour.

After 2 more botox injections which had become ineffective and after 5 weeks in hospital it became apparent that the only treatment left was surgery, which finally happened on the 2nd of November. An insertion of a Montgomery T Tube which allows Gordon to have a permanent airway for when the spasms happen so that he will not blackout and is able to breathe.

The ramifications of being in hospital so long have taken a huge toll on Gordon himself physically, mentally and emotionally as well as the family as a whole. He is the sole income earner in the Denton family and due to the long admission this time and together with his admission back in May has exhausted all his sick leave and annual leave so there is no income except for his wife's part pension and family allowance until he fully recovers from surgery.

This is why we are compelled to help Gordon & Cheryl with some much needed financial relief.