David Jackson starts his days early, often rising with the sun to get ready to take his regular trip to Armadale Hospital for dialysis.
The 57-year-old Kelmscott resident has been a type-one diabetic for more than 40 years and has been on dialysis since 2004.
Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of every week he spends five hours receiving the treatment but recently he has been struggling to make it to his appointments as his car broke down just before Christmas.
Since then Mr Jackson has been relying on public transport and taxis which can be not only expensive but also exhausting after receiving the time-consuming treatment.
“You feel quite tired and washed out,” he said.
“You do recover from the dialysis the next day but it takes its toll on you.
“My wife helps out where she can but we have no choice and I’m not looking forward to Easter with the public holidays as public transport doesn’t run on time.
“I will have to pay a $20 taxi fare each way for each trip to the hospital and I have to be at the hospital by 6am and get home by 1pm,” he said.
The couple’s bid to fix their old car came to no avail after borrowing $2000 for a repair job but the car still doesn’t work.
In a bid to raise the money, Mr Jackson has started a go fund me page and while he said he feels embarrassed to have to resort to this measure, he has no choice.
“My life depends on being able to get there and home,” he said.
“After five hours of treatment I do not feel that well which is normal and very tried and winter is not far off and getting wet and sitting for hours in wet clothes is not good for anyone’s health.
“It would be fantastic if I got a car, it would certainly be a lot easier because a few years ago I fell down due to my diabetes and broke both ankles and ended up in Armadale Hospital for a week.”
“I am very thankful to those people who have already donated and if we were able to purchase a car, or share it, we would be very grateful,” he said.
To donate to David’s go fund me page visit https://au.gofundme.com/f/dialysis-patient-needs-transport
