Please help Lisa to find a cure and live

Lisa has a condition called Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Obstruction (CIIP). This condition has been with her for some years and for the most part she has kept it to herself to the point that not many people knew just how serious or life threatening the condition is. She thought she was going to die from this some years ago but managed to find a surgeon who was willing to take the risk to operate on her. Meanwhile Lisa has stayed strong, fighting on for her daughter, remaining stubbornly independent, working, living and helping others out. Lisa has recently had a severe set back, which means that this wildly independent, stubborn and beautiful woman, mother and friend has finally let us all know just how bad things are. We were all shocked to read the following call for help because most people had no idea what she was going through over the years:

"As most of you know, I have been ill for years, with this stupid bowel thing - Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Obstruction (CIIP) - it nearly killed me, but we found a treatment (Chait Tube) that has had me stable for about 6 years. It has required yearly surgeries to keep me healthy and productive, and there has only been one surgeon in the country that would touch me, my entire medical history is too complicated for everyone else.

Towards the end of last year, I developed an infection in my stoma site, which isn't entirely unusual. Knowing I had an appointment with my specialist coming up, I left it until then for treatment. When I went for my appointment, I saw a new dr, who told me my surgeon is now gone, and he would be seeing me from now on. This dr completely blew me off with my concerns about my infection, told me it was all in my head, said he was going to refer me to urology, refused to give me antibiotics and sent me on my way.

As I'm sure you are all guessing, that's when things went wrong. The infection got significantly worse, I started to loose ALOT of fluid through my site (water and cecum fluid), all sorts of lovely things, as well as nasty fevers and all the associated fun that comes with them.

I was hospitalised in Hastings (there on holiday), and discharged after being given IV abs and fluid, and told to come home to Wellington and be admitted here, as the DHB wouldn't fund treatment there. They also informed me that my surgeon has passed away, and the specialist I used to see in Hastings has had a massive accident, been (at that stage) in ICU for a few weeks and no one else there was going to risk it.

So I came home, went to the GP, was sent to hospital, again given fluid - they sent me for an xray, prepped me for surgery, then they read my notes. All of a sudden, the lines were removed, and I was told under no uncertain circumstances that even though there is a huge infection, probable abscess, and my tube is failing, no one is willing to risk operating on me. I am too high risk. "Go home and rest, sort your affairs, enjoy your daughter, we are so sorry.... the gastro team will see you in April, but there is nothing we can do for you now."

So now I am home. Unable to work, barely able to function. Back on Fortisip to nourish me, back to the no dairy, low fibre, low residue diet (which basically means I can eat poached chicken/fish and rice, or broth), back on the anti nausea medication, sleeping 18 hours a day, on my 4th lot of antibiotics... to be honest with you all, I feel like I am now being left to wait to get sick enough for TPN so I can die and get out of their hair.

My plan is to move myself and Caiyah back to Napier, where we have friends and a support network to help us, especially for Caiyah's sake. If things go really wrong, she will need everyone. My poor girl has seen too much of this, and been through so much with me, I can't leave her alone in this world.

What is the point of telling you all this? I need your help. I need to get home. We need a house, we need to move, and I need to find someone to take the risk and operate on me.

I am asking you all to keep your eyes and ears open. Help me research, help me find the surgeon, where ever in the world they are, and help me live. Some of you must have contacts somewhere - people that know people that know people.

Share the hell out of this. Hopefully the right person will read it eventually.

Please?

Lisa needs to get herself and her daughter back to Napier so that she has people who can support her and her daughter should the worst happen. In the meantime Lisa is not giving up, she wants to live for her daughter. We are frantically searching for surgeons who will give her what could be life-saving surgery. This fundraiser has been set up for a number of purposes. Firstly to get Lisa and her daughter to a place where they will have support - she has been in Wellington working, unfortunately she is now too unwell to work and cannot afford to move. Lisa needs financial support to achieve this as she has no time, energy or will to deal with bureaucracy, packing and moving her house - she needs movers to do this for her. The second motivation to this page is to raise funds for potential surgery, if we can find anyone here or overseas that will do it. If worse comes to worse any funds raised on this page will at least give Lisa peace of mind and time right now, time to heal, time to find the right support agencies/people to deal with unfortunate bureaucracies to fight the good fight on her behalf - at the moment Lisa has no energy to deal with any of the things that need done. Money cannot buy everything but it can ease her way right now. Please please please help her, if anyone deserves it, she does!