Moss Vale: Single mum Kylie Smith forced to spend thousands weekly to get daughter, 21, to lifesaving dialysis treatments

A single mum says she has to fork out thousands each week so her young daughter suffering kidney failure can access lifesaving dialysis more than an hour away. Here’s their heartbreaking story.

Laurah receiving haemodialysis treatment in the hospital for renal failure. Picture: Supplied

A single mum says she has to spend thousands of dollars each week so her young daughter suffering kidney failure can access lifesaving dialysis treatment more than an hour away.

Kylie Smith has been pushing for her 21-year-old daughter Laurah to receive care at the local hospital Bowral & District Hospital among other medical struggles in her family.

But Laurah has been put on a minimum six-month waitlist which prioritises elderly patients due to a lack of resources.

She travels from Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands to Campbelltown Hospital three times a week by taxi because the family does not have access to a car, her mum said.

Laurah receiving treatment. Picture:Supplied

Laurah is travelling hundreds of kilometres for treatment each week. Picture: Kylie Smith

The travel over more than 200 kilometres has been costing almost $2000 a week.

“Laurah’s journey has been challenging since her diagnosis with polycystic kidney disease and hypertension at just four-weeks-old,” Ms Smith said.

“Her life has been a series of hospital stays and daunting medical challenges.”

Ms Smith suffers from a chronic auto-immune condition called Hashimoto thyroid, which prevents her from working on top of also being Laurah’s full-time carer.

She said she could not afford to get treatment herself due to relying solely on Centrelink payments.

“I just can’t afford to spend more money to go see a specialist when travel costs so much and rent already takes $1000 a fortnight from the $1300 I get from the Carer Payment,” she said.

Bowral and District Hospital. Picture: Wesley Lonergan

“It just means I’m in constant pain and taking two trains and a bus – which we used to do sometimes – is not really possible anymore because of our health conditions.”

Ms Smith said they received a taxi voucher for Laurah’s first trip for dialysis at the Campbelltown hospital, but paid themselves since.

Meanwhile, a $123.7 million redevelopment of the Borwal hospital has been underway.

Stage one was completed in 2020 and stage two, which includes an Outpatient Centre, is due to be finished soon.

A South Western Sydney Local Health District spokesperson said: “Bowral and District Hospital’s satellite dialysis service is increasing its capacity to provide more outpatient dialysis care.”

“From April 2024, three new specialist renal nurses will be joining the unit,” they said.

“Campbelltown Hospital’s renal department offers a variety of transport options to outpatients experiencing hardship.”

They were not able to clarify if taxi vouchers were one of the means of support or explain why Laurah received a voucher as a one-off.

The spokesperson pointed out a “door-to-door Patient Transport Service and Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) was available “to eligible patients.”

Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) application portal message. Picture: NSW Government

Ms Smith said she has been applying for IPTAAS for her daughter, but the relevant website warns processing has been delayed due to an increased number of applicants.

It comes as Ms Smith and her daughter have started travelling 100 more kilometres to Bankstown and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to prepare for a kidney transplant, with hopes Ms Smith can be a donor for her daughter.

Laurah and her brother Brenton, who is in a wheelchair and lives with muscular dystrophy. Picture: Supplied

Ms Smith has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser online in hopes of obtaining $15,000 to pay for a car and enable crucial medical treatments.

“This isn’t just a car, it’s a critical link in ensuring Laurah gets to her dialysis and pre-transplant tests,” Ms Smith said.

Ms Smith said it had been heartbreaking watching her daughter struggle and Laurah battled severe depression following years of physical and mental hardship.

“She’s 21 now, but she doesn’t have a life. She doesn’t get to go to the beach or nightclubs, or hang out with friends,” she said.

“She’s always sleeping because she feels sick and unwell and lethargic.”

The GoFundMe page has already hit about $10,000.

Ms Smith said: “We’re not just asking for donations; we’re asking for a lifeline.