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Power of television lifts Struggle Street’s Jess & Michelle

Jess had raised $400 towards her $60,000 surgery costs before Struggle Street aired. Now that's all changed.

This is a great way to finish the week…..

A GoFundMe campaign for Struggle Street‘s 23 year old Jess has raised more than $89,000 towards a much-needed trip to Baltimore for important surgery.

Jess lives with the rarest form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a genetic disorder that causes her connective tissue to break down. Her mum Michelle is her carer. Jess needs to fly to Baltimore to be treated at a specialist EDS clinic, as well as buy a proper wheelchair, at a cost of $60,000. Doctors have told her if all goes to plan, she can expect to live to the age of 40. But if she doesn’t receive specialist treatment in the US, her diagnosis is much more grim.

Prior to the series screening her campaign had raised just $400. But the SBS series has changed all that.

“A thank you to people does not seem enough,” Michelle told Fairfax. “I wish I could hug every single one of those people who have donated. If I could, I would.”

SBS director of television Marshall Heald said, “[It] goes to show the power of television to bring about positive change,” he said. “Their experience is deeply personal, but is reflective of the 2.7 million unpaid carers in Australia – a quarter of whom live below the poverty line.

“This is a key issue that our policymakers need to address. We wish Jessica and Michelle all the best for the next stage of their journey.”

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