“We just thought it was another virus. By the time we reached the Hospital, he was completely unresponsive.”

Clive’s story shows how quickly life can change.

On Wednesday 20 August he became unwell and by that evening he was in intensive care. Two days later, after an MRI, the neurology team sat with Clive’s parents Monique and Clint to explain the results. Monique remembers knowing something was wrong as soon as the team came in to speak with them. They were told there were significant changes in Clive’s brain.

He was diagnosed with a rare condition called Acute Necrotising Encephalopathy and the outcome was unclear. “That was the moment I broke,” Monique said. “We cried for hours. We did not know what the future would look like.”

Clive spent eight days in intensive care, surrounded by machines, unable to move or speak. His parents stayed by his side while juggling life back home. Clint travelled to and from hospital every day. “The trips alone were enough to wear the car out,” Monique said.

“It wasn’t just fuel or parking. It was everything, and we still had to keep things running at home.”

Monique held on to three wishes. She wished Clive would wake. She wished he would remember them. She wished he would be able to communicate.

On day eight Clive opened his eyes for longer and let her lift him out of bed for the first time. “I remember thinking that things were going to be ok, this was the start of him getting better, if we could turn the corner and get him out of bed we could do anything.”

Families in situations like this can face long periods in hospital and the extra costs that come with it.

Your donation helps families like Clive’s with practical, immediate support covering essentials like groceries, fuel, accommodation and bills so parents can focus on their child’s care.

" I wished Clive would wake up, I wished he would remember us and I wished for him to be able to communicate.”

Every year, families find themselves spending Christmas or the weeks around it at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Some live far from Adelaide. Others are only minutes away. But all of them are navigating uncertainty, long days on the ward and the extra costs that come with hospital life.

When a child becomes seriously unwell, even everyday expenses can quickly stack up. Groceries, fuel, temporary accommodation and other essentials can place real pressure on families who are already stretched. Social workers see this every day and help connect parents with practical support when it is needed most.

Behind every family story is one like Clive’s. A child who suddenly becomes unwell. Parents doing everything they can to stay close. Days and nights that blur together.

And the relief of knowing that some of the immediate pressures are eased so they can focus on their child. For families like Clive’s, this support means stability at a time when life feels completely unpredictable.

Focused on care, not costs this Christmas.