Mums help each other in tough times

Loretta Bryce | 19th December 2008

Five of their combined six children have severe health problems but Hervey Bay's Willis and Nicholls families embody the Christmas spirit - they're raising money to help out other people with sick kids.

Despite the struggles in their own day-to-day lives the Spoonbill Way, Eli Waters, neighbours have used their Christmas lights displays as an opportunity to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity that grants wishes to seriously ill children.

Bianca Nicholls met Jenny and Craig Willis while their children were at a Brisbane hospital being treated for chronic life-threatening asthma.

Ms Nicholls has three children: Lachlan, 8, has autism and is intellectually disabled; Eleanor has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic defect; and Charlotte, 6, has severe asthma, epilepsy and a heart condition.

The Willises have three children also: Bailey, 9, is in good health; Jessalyn, 6, has severe asthma; and Tristan, 4, has autism and a connective tissue disorder.

Ms Nicholls moved to the Fraser Coast from Brisbane in February. The Willises followed her in May.

The two young mums have become inseparable as they support each other in the challenges of raising children with illness and disability.

“I almost lost my daughter Charlotte several times in the early years of her life,” Ms Nicholls says.

“I know how important just having one choice can be to a child who has had all choice taken away from them.”

Mrs Willis's daughter Jessalyn has permanent lung damage from her asthma and has been close to death several times in her short life.

“She may become a wish child herself, so the Make-A-Wish Foundation does have a personal connection,” she said.

“We see the demand in the community for recognition and support and funding, and we relate to it.”

Make-A-Wish merchandise and collection tins will be at the front of the lights displays until Christmas Eve.