Help me give Sam a better quality of life.

Sam is my baby sister. We were born 14 months apart. I love her immeasurably. She’s my best friend and has always had my back and been there for me through some pretty stressful times in my life! She’s an extremely talented veterinary surgeon and cares for her furry patients as if they were her children. She always goes above and beyond even though she is in near constant pain. Sam’s had a lot of tough and traumatic things to go through over the years, many of which have contributed to her weight gain. Depression, burnout, assault, a serious car accident where she fractured her back, a miscarriage and then fibromyalgia. She is now considered morbidly obese. It has had a hugely negative impact on her life and career as a Veterinarian, which she absolutely loves. She gives and gives of herself to others, especially her family, her furry patients and their owners, for whom she has truckloads of empathy and love. She presently works 4 days a week but is on call 24/7 to back up and help the countless new graduates that have been under her watch at Tokoroa District Vets, often going into the clinic on her days off to help and support them. She, more often than not, goes without a lunch break on her days in the clinic and works late whenever the need demands it.

She is also full time Mum to two beautiful girls and together with her husband John is doing a fine job of raising them and their fur babies, many of whom they have rescued. At the moment Sam is near constant pain, that painkillers can’t help. She has been living with chronic pain for many years now, since breaking her back. This has led to the Fibromyalgia she now suffers from. Presently she has an added complication of possible idiopathic Intracranial hypertension which gives her the most shocking migraines. She is awaiting a lumbar puncture to confirm this. Sam’s various medical issues mean that losing her excess weight isn’t really possible through diet and exercise. It is beyond that now. She doesn’t want any chance of regaining the weight even though she knows it is going to mean a huge change of life.

She has wanted Bariatric Surgery for quite a number of years, but her symptoms don’t qualify her for the procedure through the public system as she isn’t pre-diabetic and doesn’t have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Losing the excess weight will allow her to regain a quality of life she hasn’t had for a very long time and increase her life expectancy. To do this she needs just over $20,000 to go privately. I am wanting to try and raise this through Give a Little. Please help me help Sam live her best life and hopefully ensure she around for many more decades for her girls and to heal a heap more pets.