Support for Mrs Prattley - mother, grandmother, teacher, coach, an encourager and supporter of many!

For 38 years, our Mum has served the Gore community and now our family is asking for your support in her time of need.

Mum has stage 4 metastatic cancer in her spine. There is no cure. She is focused on trying a range of treatments to try and slow the aggression and spread of the cancer, to improve the quality of life that she does have left. Mum has just finished a week of intensive radiation before she launches into bone therapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

A few years ago Mum beat breast cancer but has now run out of sick days, after teaching at Longford Intermediate for 38 years. She now faces the reality of no income while she tries to fight cancer. This diagnosis has come as a huge shock to our family. As her children, it breaks our hearts that we can’t fight this battle for her, but we can help. Money should not be the main stress at a time like this, but it is. We’d like to alleviate that stress and ensure all Mum’s energy is spent on fighting cancer, not worrying about money. Mum and Dad have worked their whole lives to give us all the best opportunities. Now we’d like to help them by raising funds, so they can focus on the battle ahead. Our ultimate goal is to help them pay off the last of their mortgage, they are so close and we know this would make things so much easier for them.

Mum has been involved in the lives of so many children and their families in Gore. She’s been teaching for the past 38 years as well as coaching netball, basketball and cricket, just to name a few. She’s spent years serving on countless committees such as the Mataura marae, various kennel clubs and Eastern Southland netball. We spent our childhood lending our Mum out to others, she was always staying until the last kid was picked up, dropping kids home, picking them up so they could participate, feeding them and encouraging them. She has always been our biggest fan on the sidelines but we shared her with so many of you. Now all we want is precious time with our Mum. Quality time, free of stress.

Gathering support is one thing we can do for our Mum. We hope we can count on help from the community to get behind our whanau. This will allow Mum some quality time with her children and her two grandchildren, whom she adores with all her heart. Her time with us is limited. We want to fill it with positivity and love, celebrating the amazing woman that she is.

With love and hope,

Becs & Elliott, Khrys, Daniel-Wayde, Pehni, Jysse, Rhuebyn, Michaela & Arthur xx