Dad’s finally coming home … for Christmas!’
For Mark Mclaren, Christmas was a special time. Working as a telecommunications engineer meant weeks travelling and away from his family. So when the holidays arrived, Mark, 54, cherished time with his wife Gaby and their three kids, Jesus, 26, Juan, 11, and Sermanda, 10.
“We’d cook and decorate the house, preparing for a huge family dinner,” says Gaby, 47. And Mark loved nothing more than watching the kids open their presents.
But it all changed shortly after New Year’s Day in 2015, when during a family holiday to visit Gaby’s sister in Miami, Mark suffered a stroke.
He was rushed to hospital and operated on for seven hours before doctors explained to Gaby that he had suffered a brain aneurysm. At the age of 49, Mark was a quadriplegic.
He spent two months in hospital in the US before being transferred to Brisbane and accommodated in a rehabilitation centre. Each Christmas, Gaby and the kids would visit Mark, but it was nothing like the happy holidays they had once shared.
To be together again, their only option was to use their savings to buy land and build a house to accommodate Mark’s needs. As a family they took on the monumental challenge, but as funds started to run out, Gaby discovered an organisation called Youngcare and applied for one of their grants.
“They gave us the money to finish the house,” says Gaby.
And this Christmas, after five agonising years apart, Mark’s coming home.
“The kids are so excited,” says Gaby. “It means we’ll open presents at home like we used to. We’ll be together again and that’s all that matters.” For more information, visit youngcare.com.au