Now is the time to Givealittle to Louise

Sadly, the week after Christmas Louise was given the devastating news that she has terminal cancer with no viable treatment options and just a few months to live. An experimental drug trial aiming to extend life has commenced, but at this point hasn’t had a big enough sample of patients to determine its efficacy.

With a small close-knit family, Louise is the proud mother of three adult children and has 2 grandsons aged 14 and 2 and a newly arrived baby granddaughter.

For the past two months, Louise’s older daughter Ashleigh has been staying with Louise to provide support and help with daily living and hospital appointments. Jamie, Louise’s son, has quit his job in New York and returned to New Zealand on emergency compassionate grounds to take over Ashleigh’s role as carer for the next few months. Youngest daughter Katie works full time as an early childhood teacher and is unable to offer as much support as she would like.

Louise is one of life’s good people and as a resident of over 30 years on the Hibiscus Coast has been a generous and tireless champion for many in the community. She has played an active role in the community as a member of the Orewa Rotary Club, Life Education Trust, and volunteering at Youth and Transition and Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren. This selflessness is typical of Louise; generous to a fault with her time and always willing to help others when they need it most.

As well as spending as much time as possible with her grandchildren, Louise is an avid gardener and cook with an overriding passion for fishing so tries to get out on the water as much as she can. Due to her recent diagnosis and declining health, time is now of the essence and Jamie’s return from the US means he will be able to help finish some of the DIY projects and maintenance around her 1940’s bungalow and garden on which Louise has worked tirelessly over the last year.

Louise and her family would love to tick off a few things on her bucket list but despite the efforts of her family contributing financially to living costs and mortgage payments, as well as medical and associated costs, it is not enough to raise the extra funds needed so they are reaching out to their community for support.