This is Leigh ,my son. The most selfless and caring person I know. He lives a vegan lifestyle and his dream was to travel the world and learn new things,working along the way and helping where he could especially if animals where involved. He put plans on hold when out of the blue I was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Heart Failure, Diabetes and Fibromyalgia. The doctors suspected the cause to be hereditary so the family were tested and a Pandora's box was opened. My mother had Dilated Cardiomyopathy as did her two brothers and of my three children, Leigh had it. Both his left and right ventricles are affected so he has to be extra careful.
After coming to terms with his illness,Leigh decided that he couldn't put it off any longer and there would never be a right time to go so he got his visa and a one way ticket to Perth .
He was only two weeks in when he got the message from his uncle that his nan from his dads side had suddenly died. This upset him a great deal as he was going to see her before he left but decided to leave it until he returned from his travels. He had been staying with my mums brother , who had the same heart condition , so they were able to discuss symptoms and what was to come possibly for Leigh. He felt this was now a good time to move onto a friend he knew in Melbourne.
Melbourne was a good time for him to relax and do a bit of sightseeing and his grieving. But very early on he realised Australia was a very expensive place to stay and his cash flow was dwindling a lot faster than he could ever have anticipated. Soon he found he had to get a job so he moved into Melbourne city and found a few hours bar work.
Two months in I had to give him the tragic news that my mum had died. I don't honestly know how a young man dealing with his mothers illnesses as well as his own, and the surrounding families then goes on to deal with the death of his two Nanas. It takes so much strength to be all alone the other side of the world.