By Luke Voogt
Geelong residents have raised $37,478 to help a young Clifton Springs mother undergo life-changing brain surgery in Sydney this month.
Courtney Gibbs was “out of sorts” as she recovered at her parents’ home in NSW after the 15 March operation but it did little to dampen her gratitude.
“I’m blown away,” the 28-year-old said.
Courtney developed a pineal cystic tumour which had been causing severe nausea, memory loss and other symptoms.
With the cist growing, her condition had been likely to worsen.
“With something on your brain at some point it’s going to be life-threatening but I wasn’t telling people that I was dying,” Courtney said.
Courtney and husband Cody had been about to buy their first home together but with $42,000 in upfront costs they had to “rethink it all”.
“All our savings have gone into my brain, pretty much,” Courtney said.
“Our medical bills aren’t going to stop for a while.”
Add to that the challenge of caring for their 10-month-old son Hunter.
Luckily, Courtney’s four parents-in-law (Cody’s parents both remarried) in Clifton Springs were “amazing”.
“They had to be around every single day before Cody flew home to be with me,” Courtney said.
Cody, a fly-in-fly-out construction worker, took leave to look after the couple’s son. Despite his employer being “fantastic” it added to their financial burden.
The couple were nervous about starting a fundraising page.
“It’s a strange feeling being so vulnerable and having to reach out and tell people what we’re going through,” Cody said.
“We’re absolutely blown away by the support we’ve had – we wouldn’t have been able to get this stage without it.”
The couple’s ongoing medical costs will likely total $90,000. To support them visit www.gofundme.com/courtney-amelias-brain-surgery.
