Kelly's Cervical Cancer Battle

Kelly Fitzgerald – amazing mother of 3, loving wife & has stage 4b cervical cancer

Kelly has always been a fighter.

At just six weeks old she was made a ward of the state. Later, she became a single mother. Kelly fought to clean her life up, inspired to be a strong role model for her son, and then Kelly met Aaaron.

The love of her life, Aaron became a father to her son and the dedicated, loving partner she truly deserved.

After battling through several miscarriages to create another two beautiful children- and despite struggling to stay afloat after Aaron was made redundant- Kelly felt like she'd finally reached her own happily-ever-after, describing their life together as "perfection".

Then, in late September, Kelly found a lump in her pelvis.

By mid-October, Kelly and Aaron were advised it's cancerous.

And by the end of October, they'd discovered that Kelly not only has incurable stage 4b cervical cancer but that it has spread, via her bloodstream, to her left lung and her pelvic bone.

As mothers, we have each stroked the faces of our sleeping children and dreamed of the lives they have ahead. We imagine ourselves waving them off on their first dates, wishing them luck on their first days of Uni, dancing with them on their wedding days. We ask ourselves "what will my child be when they grow up?" but we never dare imagine we may not live to find out.

This is the reality Kelly, and the hundreds of women dying of cervical cancer each year, must face every single day.

Cancer Australia estimates that 903 women will receive a cervical cancer diagnosis in 2016 alone. That's 903 beloved daughters, sisters, mothers and wives who will face PET scans and oncologists, who will undergo stress and anxiety, who will hear the words "you have cancer".

Of those 903 women, an estimated 250 won't make it to see 2017.

It isn't just the women who're affected, it's their partners and their families.

Aaron has taken a leave of absence to care full-time for Kelly and their children. The medication Kelly takes to minimise the pain keeps her drowsy, struggling to drive or to help with chores, so he handles those without complaint. He shoulders the immense burden of knowing that someday soon he will be the sole carer for their three children, the youngest just 16 months old.

Money isn't just tight for full-time carers, it's virtually non-existent. With Kelly undergoing palliative radiation treatment to ease her symptoms so she can enjoy the remaining time she has with her family, she simply doesn't have the energy left to battle Centrelink's overloaded system to receive a carers allowance for Aaron, so they've left it in the hands of a local member of parliament while Kelly does what Kelly has always done: Fight.

Fight to keep her family afloat.
Fight to stay positive for her kids.
Fight to wring every last drop of love and joy from these, her final days, as she can.

Kelly is 32 years old. Kelly has incurable stage 4b cervical cancer. Kelly is a devoted wife, a loving mother, a survivor and a fighter. Kelly is a Queen.

To help cover the cost of her funeral, creating memory boxes for her children, and to deal with the onslaught of day-to-day expenses, Kelly has set up a GoFundMe page. Any donation, no matter how small, will help ease the burden on Kelly's loving family. It is a testament to her love and strength that even with so much to deal with herself, Kellys efforts are all for them.