It is hard to put in to words how much we appreciate everything the town of Nyngan has done for our family, particularly our heart boy Patrick.
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We were always told Patrick would need surgery sometime in his life, it was just a matter of when.
Patrick’s mum Melanie, researched as much as possible and discovered that in other parts of the world the New Zealand cardiologist’s approach would be considered outdated and far too conservative.
The New Zealand hospital system would not and still does not support the view of fixing Patrick’s tricuspid valve at this point.
If we lived in America Patrick probably would have been operated on several years ago.
Because of the view of the cardiology team, we weren’t able to access a government fund that would have paid for the surgery in America at the Mayo Clinic, one of the most reputable hospital systems worldwide.
Somehow, through the generosity of so many people we were able to
get enough money to pay for this surgery.
Nyngan was by far the most generous part of our fundraising efforts.
We think about $60,000 is the figure that Nyngan raised for us.
For that we mostly have to thank Karina Dunn who somehow managed to organise so many events to fundraise, despite having her own family health issue to deal with on a daily basis. Thank you Karina.
We also need to thank many others in Nyngan including the RSL, Golf and Bowling clubs who either hosted fundraising events or donated to Patrick’s cause.
Thank you to the people involved in the Back to the Bush concert, the Riverside Caravan Park and Triton Mine for their support.
Thank you to everyone involved in the Pedalling for Patrick bike ride from Tottenham to Nyngan at Easter, especially all the riders including my sisters Catherine and Jennifer.
Thanks also to the Nyngan Jockey Club and the Bogan Shire Council for their support.
Thank you to all of Nyngan for everything you’ve done for Patrick.
Patrick’s surgery went better than we could have even hoped for. Patrick’s was about the 200th surgery of its kind at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
His recovery is going remarkably well and it looks like the outcome will mean a much more active life for Patrick, and more surgery shouldn’t be needed for many more years.
My apologies to anyone who we’ve forgotten to thank individually. We will be sure to bring Patrick back to Nyngan soon to thank you himself.
John and Melanie Walsh
