‘May for Macie’ to help raise funds for daughter
By Kirra Livingstone
LIFE might be tough for Glass House Mountains youngster, Macie Honeysett, but you can guarantee she is a joy to everyone who comes into her life.
The nine-year-old was born with ring 18 syndrome, a condition that only has 72 known cases recorded globally.
The little girl eats from a feeding tube, is nonverbal, and is confined to a wheelchair.
Despite this, Macie makes the most out of every single day, loves going to school and going on beach trips.
Her mum, Jess Davidson, is her full time carer, taking her wherever she needs to go, and said “no two days are the same for Macie”.
“She’s cheeky, she’s bossy, she is very resilient, she does go through a bit and any given day she could wake up with a dislocated hip, and then the whole day is all about that all of a sudden, so it’s tough on Macie,” Jess said.
“She uses a podbook to communicate and she uses sign language, so that’s how she’s so bossy, she’s got a great sense of humour, she understands sarcasm, she always wants to be around people.”
Macie goes to Palmview Special School, and she just loves it there, but for the other half of the week, she is doing therapy at hospital appointments.
As Macie grows though, she needs not only a new wheelchair, but a new van, which Jess is fundraising to buy.
“We are hoping to get a new Staria van, which will accommodate our need for more room,” she said.
“The van will cost just under $60,000, and we may need a few more thousand dollars to install an automatic wheelchair ramp if the NDIS can’t cover the cost.”
Jess takes caring for her special needs daughter in her stride, however, she admits it can be challenging.
“I can’t hold a stable job because you don’t know what to expect everyday, but we can be done at the hospital and go straight down to the beach and she’s fine, she bounces back quickly,” she said.
“Macie’s favourite people are her siblings, they are a great extra support to her and myself in caring and being there for her.”
Macie’s mum also wanted to thank everyone who has donated so far, raising more than $4000 in a few weeks time, and wanted to highlight the generosity of Club Glassie.
“We really want to thank Club Glassie, who have pledged for every donation up to a certain amount donated by a member, they will match the amount, which is just amazing,” Jess said.
“The go fund me to raise money for the van has only been up since April 3, and we have already raised $4225, which I’m pretty happy with so far.”
Macie’s mum also plans to create a number of ‘May for Macie’ fundraising events next month to help raise more funds towards the van.
These events include community BBQs, lunches and more.
gofund.me/bd5e7325