Couple who met as children fighting cystic fibrosis face new challenge
A man and woman who met when they were sick as kids in hospital are now in for the battle of their lives.
Matt and Kaila Maartensz met at Princess Margaret Hospital in Western Australia when they were just children battling cystic fibrosis - an inherited life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system.
In 2015, they walked down the aisle and said "I do" in front of family and friends, Perth Now reports.
Now, just three years later, Mr Maartensz's battle with the lung disease is a desperate struggle for survival.
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“Kaila means the world to me and I want to do everything I can to keep me in her world,” Matt, 29, said from his bed at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
“I am not even 30. I don’t want to leave yet.”
The pair had a new lease on life after they were both lucky enough to receive lung transplants. Both of them had no issues, that is until on December 5, when Mr Maartensz's health suddenly declined.
His lung capacity dropped overnight from the highest it had been to near its lowest. Doctors were baffled and were unable to treat it.
"They asked [me] ‘how are you standing up?’,” he said.
He was told he had just weeks or months to live, leading them both to quit their jobs to focus on his health.
When Ms Maartensz was forced to go back to work as they struggled to pay the bills, a friend set up a Go Fund Me page, which has since raised more than $16,000 for the duo.
“That has been an amazing help, but the doctors say Matt has to go home — I will need to be there with him,” Ms Maartensz said.
Mr Maartensz said after a lifetime with cystic fibrosis he was used to being told his days were numbered.
“I was told a lot as a kid I wouldn’t make it to 16, I wouldn’t make it to 21,” he said.
“I just wanted to prove every-one wrong. I am still here but this time is is a bit harder.”
To help Matt and Kaila visit their Go Fund Me page.
Cystic fibrosis affects one in 2,500 Australians, with the average life expectancy of an Australian with the condition being just 37. There is no cure.
