Mark, Jo and children

Have you ever woken up from what you thought was a nightmare and then realised it’s reality? This is what my beautiful friends Jo & Mark are experiencing now!

Hi, my name is Tracey and I’ve been best mates with Jo since we were 8 years old. Jo met the love of her life, Mark near 20 years ago. In that time together they have overcome hardship unfathomable to most. Two of their young children were diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes which came with many challenges, emotions and medical costs. Then to add to this, Mark was also diagnosed with diabetes. Mark worked at the same company for 30 years and took on any extra work available to keep the family afloat. Jo’s full-time job was keeping her children alive, learning how to manage their high care needs, whilst educating them to self-manage this awful disease. Mark and Jo were resilient and just got what was needed done.

Sadly, Mark had a misdiagnosis and what he was told was type 2 diabetes, actually was type 1. Unfortunately, this has meant his health slowly deteriorating. The implications of this have been huge for Mark and his family, resulting in Mark recently needing below the knee amputation and him having to give up work.

But the hardships haven’t finished there, in fact they’re just starting! Mark was sent home very soon after the amputation, which was exciting until the reality of life as an amputee has started setting in. Their rental home needs many upgrades so Mark can be more independent. Jo is currently carer for Mark and the 2 children. This is nothing new for Jo as she’s been carer many times in her life, firstly for her dad then her mum, but it’s taking its toll emotionally and financially.

We desperately need your help. Emotionally we can support Jo and the family but with rent at $600 a week and no income they are weeks away from homelessness. NDIS and insurance are underway, but the wait could be months. Please help with some financial support for their family as Mark continues to smash rehabilitation. Every dollar counts and will help keep them afloat until further support is put in place. Let’s turn this nightmare around and show the love to Jo & Mark!