Fifteen-month-old Aimee Arun fell critically ill in early August and is currently in Sydney’s Westmead Hospital with a diagnosis of encephalomyelitis. Her parents are Arun Sankar and Sheeja Raj of Inverell, both registered nurses working at Inverell District Hospital and McLean.

Family friend, Louise Adams has been looking after Aimee and her four-year-old brother while the family has been working shifts to make ends meet. She has been to see Aimee in Sydney and said the little girl has been badly affected by the disease.

“That’s affected her brain and she’s gone back to the virtual stage of just being a newborn baby,” Louise said.

“She’s got no muscle control anymore, her neck flops around. They’re tube-feeding her since she doesn’t have much of a sensation with her mouth as far as swallowing food.”

The little girl was transported from Inverell to Tamworth and Newcastle before she ended up at Westmead where she spent two weeks in intensive care. Louise said it has only been in the last week and a half that Aimee was moved to a private room to allow the quiet needed for her brain to heal.

“She was actually walking and stating to talk before this happened. They’re all back to square one now,” she said.

With both parents unable to work so they can be by their daughter’s side, local friends of the family are hosting a lunch in Victoria Park this Saturday to raise funds to help allay some of their burden.

The lunch starts at noon and will feature home cooked Indian food, a barbecue and other goodies. 

Please RSVP by Wednesday with voice message or SMS to Tisha George-Xavier on 0431 422 269 with your name and number of people attending for catering purposes.

If you can’t come to the event but would still like to help out please contact Tisha or you can donate at Inverell Dental Services 33a Otho Street.