Support Rachael and her beautiful family through her battle with cancer.

On July 15, Rachael had surgery to remove a tumour and half her thyroid. The results of this showed that she has Encapsulated angioinvasive Follicular thyroid carcinoma, showing vascular invasion, placing her into a high risk category.

Rachael and Luke have three beautiful little children: Katie, aged 4, Grace, aged 2, and William, aged 9 months.

The road ahead involves more surgery (booked for early September) to remove the other half of her thyroid. During her recovery she will be unable to lift heavy things (and little William isn't a lightweight!) and will not be able to do the myriad of jobs that mothers do: look after the children, cook meals, clean the house, fold the washing, take children to appointments, stop world wars, read stories, juggle everything!

But wait, there's more ahead for Rachael... about a month after the surgery she will need treatment in the form of radioactive iodine. This means her body will be radioactive (although I don't think she'll be able to turn the microwave on from across the room) and she will be unable to have contact with any living creature (people and animals).

So she will need to go into isolation for two weeks following the iodine treatment. Away from her children, away from her husband. (Away from her mum too...) And this is where we particularly need your help.

Luke needs to be there for his children. He needs to be the one constant in their lives during this time away from their mummy. BUT...earlier this year he had a pretty bad car accident and was off work for weeks, using up all his sick leave and most of his holiday pay. Luke is the sole income earner, so they can't get by without his income if he takes time off to care for their children.

Can you help us to raise enough money to cover his wages for the weeks Rachael is in treatment so that he can make sure their children are in the best place? Any extra funds raised will be used for any unforeseen medical treatment or family expenses. There will also be Oncologist appointments at Waikato hospital, so extra funds can help cover petrol.

Thank you SO MUCH for your support. We are grateful.