Help us help this very brave girl and her whānau

Kia ora all. My name is Leisha. I am a family friend of India’s (age 13) and her beautiful whānau the “Heron’s”. Just over two years ago our Indy was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Arthritis in children is not heard of very often but is sadly something that this family have had to endure. This condition has caused India so much pain - unbearable pain. Along with the arthritis India has been diagnosed with Central Sensitisation. This involves the central nervous system becoming incredibly sensitive and India’s entire body hurts most of the time. The pain memories stay in Indias body and her nervous sytem gets so confused it constantly tells her body its in pain. India’s joint and muscle pain is excrutiating and causes her to have a large amount of time off school. This puts pressure on her parents as they both work to provide for their family. India has a brother Lachy and a twin sister Alicia who struggle also as they watch their sister in pain and deal with their Mum and Dad trying to ‘make things work’.

Every week India visits her local childrens ward for a painful injection in her arm of Methotrexate and takes a whopping 52 tablets a week. That doesn’t include regular paracetamol etc. The family also travels to Auckland regularly for visits with the Rheumatology team at Starship Childrens Hospital. Things have been incredibly stressful for the family over the last two years and this past week has tested their family more than ever. This week india was admitted to hospital with a bone infection and possibly CRMO disease. This disease is a chronic osteomyelitis and effects 1 in a million people. The family will not know if this is something India has for another 6 weeks and that time will be even more stressful for them all. India is not attending school while having IV antibiotics for the next 4-6 weeks and is enrolled with a health school which she will attend two mornings a week. The whānau does not know what the future holds for India. Life has become a waiting game of taking each day as it comes, whilst hoping for the best.

Those who know this whānau, would agree with me when I say they live everyday putting others first and supporting anyone who crosses their path in anyway they can. They have the biggest hearts full of nothing but love. Just the other night “give a little” came to my mind. I passed it by the Heron’s and when I say it was the hardest decision ever to give their approval it was. This is purely because it is just not normal for them to reach out to others. In fact it wouldn’t even cross their mind because they are too busy showering others with their love.

On behalf of the Heron whānau I say thank you from the bottom of their hearts.