Please help Kerly and his family

My good friends, Kerly (Paul Kerr), Kirsty Barr and Leon Kerr lived in Wanaka for many years. Kerly and Kirsty moved to Wellington at the end of 2017 to be closer to extended family and for work opportunities.

At the end of 2021, Kerly was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (B-ALL), Philadelphia Like. Despite immediate, aggressive treatment for the last 11 months, the outlook is bleak. From the last bone marrow result, the disease is progressing rapidly and Kerly has been told he has very limited time left. There are some drug options that will buy some more time but they are not funded and cost $10K a month (Venetoclax). They are going to try one on a month by month basis. They have very limited funds especially with Kirsty being the main earner and having to take huge amounts of time off work.

You may remember them around Wanaka. Kerly was a builder and draftsman. Kirsty worked for Otago Regional Council and organised the Walking School Buses so kids could get to school safely. She also ran bike clinics at schools that taught children to ride safely. Their son Leon was at MAC and left at the end of 2017. The family lived in their trailer/tiny home built by Kerly on land next to the River House between Hawea and Wanaka.