Can you spare a little to help William Hoy and his family?

This is my nephew William. William is 17 and has very high dependence autism. William has the mental age of about 7 years old and requires a high level of care from his parents. He is verbal, he's funny, he can be very cheeky when he wants to, a little stubborn if he doesn't want to do something, but overall he's a happy kid and he's full of love for his family; his parents, his sister Samantha, his aunts and uncle. His father Ian (my brother) has been his primary carer since he was diagnosed at a very early age. His mother Monica (my sister in law) continued to work while Ian took on the role of carer. They have done their best for over 15 years to provide for Will and then Sam on one income and a carers pension. Then suddenly their world changed.

At the start of July this year, around his 17th birthday, William was diagnosed with Stage 3b Hodgkin's Lymphoma and has been in and out of Westmead Children’s Hospital since his diagnosis. Due to his condition, William has experienced many complications and setbacks during his cancer treatment. He commenced his first round of chemotherapy and had many health challenges come up during the first round. He was able to go home for a short time, but then was back in hospital for round 2 of chemotherapy. He came home, but again has had to be readmitted due to the many complications that keep arising as his treatment progresses.

His mum Monica stopped working straight away and spent every night in hospital with William. His dad Ian is there all day and evening and then goes home to tend to the pets, try and spend some time with their daughter Samantha, and then get up in the morning and do it all again. Monica has used up all of her leave entitlements and unfortunately her employer could not offer any solution to enable her to continue a leave of absence, so she had to resign from work. Any savings they had have quickly gone and now they are in a very difficult situation.

William will require constant care and monitoring during his treatment and as a result, Monica or Ian won't be able to work for at least the next 18 months. If William is in hospital, he needs his mum there to stay with him and keep a sense of normality. If William is at home, then he needs someone watching over him at all times in case he has to be taken back to hospital. So far, his blood pressure, his heart rate and his temperature have at many times gone into dangerous levels. Luckily this has happened most times when he has already been in hospital, but it has also happened at home and he had to be raced back to hospital, thus the need for a constant eye on him.

Ian and Monica have never asked for anything. They've always believed there are others worse off than them, but now they need your help. Bills, rent, life - it all costs money and they have none. Any amount that could be contributed would be greatly appreciated. This will enable them to focus on William and Samantha without the stress of finances hanging over their heads.

Thank you all.