Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WOONONA, Australia — A young mother who is in need of lifesaving surgery has donated funds raised in her name to a neighbor child with cancer.
Jamie-Lee Hall, 24, is preparing for a second round of brain surgery to treat a rare neurological condition called moyamoya disease. The disease blocks arteries at the base of the brain, putting the patient at risk of paralysis.
Hall, a mother of two, had an initial surgery shortly before Christmas of 2009. A donation of $7,000 from a terminally ill man and $2,500 from the Live Love Laugh Foundation paid for the surgery.
When Hall learned late in 2012 that she would need an additional surgery, she turned to family and friends, who began raising money for the surgery. The money was not needed, though; Hall found out on Christmas Eve there was a specialist at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital that would do the surgery for free.
Hall told the Illawarra Mercury she decided to give the money raised for her surgery to her 11-year-old neighbor, Connor, instead of saving it for future medical expenses. Connor, who has cancer, needs an urgent operation to remove a brain tumor.
"Me and Connor have always got along because I was diagnosed when I was his age, so I had the same sort of childhood that he's having," she told the paper. "So, the minute they said we wouldn't have to pay, I said I wanted him to have the money. He needs it more than I do now."
Hall said she wants her children, Mark, 3, and Maddison, 18 months, how to help those in need.
"When I was younger, everyone did the same thing for me by raising money for me to get a wheelchair, and I want to show my kids that they can do the same thing," she said.
Top image credit: Illawarra Mercury
