Jolene's Journey Home

Thank you for stopping to look at my page.

My daughter Jolene currently lives in Holland and I am hoping to raise enough money to bring her home to the UK to be with me.

In 2011, at age 35 Jo developed a growth on her spine.

This was detected too late and two operations were unable to prevent permanent paralysis.
This was a devastating blow for Jo, prior to this an active, outgoing, young lady, now left wheelchair bound, incontinent and facing struggles with her mental health.

After spending 2 years in hospital Jo had to leave her home of 13 years and move into an apartment for people with physical health needs, requiring access to 24-hour support.


In 2015, after extensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy Jo was able to visit me for a holiday, but sadly while here developed Sepsis, leading to multiple organ failure requiring 14 months in and out of hospital, 6 weeks of which was spent in an induced coma. Further complications in hospital left Jo with right arm and hand paralysis. Jo is very creative and enjoys art, craft and embroidery but is now unable to carry out her passion as she once did. 


Although Jo faced a hard battle to regain her memory and learn to speak again, these haven’t fully recovered. Jo struggles with her short-term memory and her speech is slow.


My hope at the time was for Jo to live with me so that I could care for her, but unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control this was not possible and Jo had to be repatriated back to Holland directly from hospital in the UK to hospital there, before returning to the apartment and continuing her rehabilitation.

Jo is now chronically ill and highly susceptible to life-threatening infection.

Jo was receiving regular support and visits from her grandparents who also live in Holland, but these visits are less frequent given their age and own health conditions.


In spite of her ongoing struggles, Jo continues to smile and maintain a positive outlook.

I visit Jo as often as I can,  facetime her every evening, and have taken long periods of time off work unpaid to be there to support her, but I am no longer able to financially sustain this, having used every resource available to me. I considered moving back to Holland to support Jo, but having explored every avenue of this, finding a home, and a new job at the age of 63 proved to be impossible for me, Jo’s wish for some time has been to come home and be with the rest of her family so that we can better support her and look after her care needs.

I am now seeking to raise funds for the cost of bringing Jo home, as simply catching a flight is not an option for her.

To travel Jo would need transporting by staffed ambulance over land and sea with necessary medical equipment on-board. Her wheelchair needs to be transported separately via air, but this needs co-ordinating to arrive before she does. We would also need to arrange shipping of her posessions, clothes, and essential medical supplies needed for her ongoing care.


To put this into context, the cost of the ambulance and staff provision alone has been quoted to me at £17,000. Added to this various costs involved with moving her belongings and for me to be able to be with her to support her throughout the move and this is just the beginning of Jo's Journey home.

Once she arrives there are further costs involved in finding a suitably adapted home for her and providing a 24-hour care package to give her back a quality of life, whilst in the comfort of being around family who can help her to gain back some independence.

I am hoping to raise £35,000 which would go a long way to help to set things in motion and bring my daughter back to me.


Any donation would be most gratefully received, or if you have any other ways of giving us support please do get in touch.

Thank you once more,

Anita, Jo’s Mum.