A mother of two has been forced to throw her own farewell party and say goodbye to her children after only weeks to live.
Gold Coast woman Laura Patience has been battling terminal liver and kidney failure since late last year.
She has been on constant life support with her husband Matt, son Lucas, 12, and daughter Zoe, 11, who stayed by her bedside the entire time.
The family was dealt another blow in February when doctors told them Mrs. Patience had only one month to live.
The news was announced the same month Ms. Patience celebrated her 18th anniversary with her husband.
Ms. Patience has exceeded expectations and continued to fight for nearly two months since the heartbreaking prognosis.
She was desperate to spend as much time as possible with her children and family and wanted to organize a final goodbye with loved ones.
A mother of two who has only weeks to live has made a moving plea to celebrate her end of life
Her story captured the hearts of Australians across the country after she launched a public appeal to host the event for Christmas.
Not only did Mrs. Patience’s appeal receive a lot of support, but also a very generous offer from her local radio station.
She said SeaFM she planned to throw a party with friends and family and went on Facebook to find someone who could make a poster for it.
“I was hoping someone could make a poster, as people would come in and say, ‘Have fun, don’t ask about my illness or I’ll throw you in the pool,'” she said.
“I’m just kidding.”
Ms. Patience said she got all sorts of responses, but one particular poster caught her eye.
“I even had someone take a picture of me kicking the bucket, which I thought was hilarious. No one else did,” she said.
Ms. Patience explained that she has been on and off a ventilator since the Christmas holidays.
She suffers from internal bleeding, which is considered to be the end stage of terminal liver and kidney failure.
“I’m still here to prove all the doctors wrong,” she said.
She was put into a coma over the holidays, which meant she couldn’t spend Christmas with her family.
Ms. Patience has exceeded expectations and continued to fight for nearly two months since the heartbreaking prognosis
Ms. Patience said she just wanted to make up for lost time and spend her remaining days with her family.
“It’s school holidays, so I plan to challenge my kids as much as possible during this time.”
‘They just lighten up my life, that keeps me going when I’m lying there in a boring hospital bed. I think of the children who always smile. I love them dearly.’
She said her children had been her anchor of support and stayed strong through the terrifying ordeal.
“It means everything to me now that I’m away from it all, just trying to do fun things, enjoying every minute with them, spoiling them as much as possible,” she said.
“Make some fun memories for them to hold on to.”
Her son Lucas, 12, said things had been “a bit rough at home” and revealed that his mother was put on a ventilator immediately after her end-of-life party.
Ms. Patience’s 11-year-old daughter said she was proud of her mother.
The mother-of-two and her partner Matt also celebrated their 18th birthday together in February.
The touching story prompted the Gold Coast radio station to gift Ms. Patience and her family $1,000 to spend in Robina Town Center and a trip to Seaworld.
Her story has also received strong support from community members affected by the story.
“To Laura and her family, we love you and are in awe of your strength and positive attitude! If anyone would like to help the family with anything else please comment below, we are grateful for any help you can give,” one wrote.