ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Real Life

I need $180,000 to save my daughter

Jane is a mum on a mission - by Eva Lewicki
  • 04 Sep 2018
I need $180,000 to save my daughter
Jane Mahon/Supplied

Mum Jane Mahon is determined to do everything she can to help her daughter Matilda. 

She tells that's life! her story in her own words...

My girl Matilda had turned 18 months and I was worried.

‘She’s still not walking or talking,’ I said to my hubby Matthew, 36. She hadn’t put on any weight for six months, wasn’t meeting milestones and we’d seen a few odd behaviours.

‘Have you noticed how Tilly presses her head against the floor when she crawls?’ I asked.

Matthew had spotted it too, and we'd both seen how the veins on her head sometimes bulged. 

When she also began vomiting up whatever she ate, I took her straight to the doctor, who ordered an MRI.

Jane Mahon's daughter Tilly needs surgery in Boston

Beautiful Tilly wasn't reaching her milestones

Jane Mahon/GoFundMe

‘She has a very rare medical condition called Vein of Galen Malformation or VGM,’ he told us, explaining it occurs during pregnancy and results in abnormal connections between blood vessels in the brain.

To ensure her brain received enough blood, Matilda’s heart needed to work harder. 
‘Without treatment, Tilly’s heart will fail,’ he added. 

‘When?’ I gasped.

‘It could be two weeks or two years,’ he said.

We were distraught. Poor Tilly also 
had hydrocephalus – an enlargement of the brain cavities caused by a build-up of fluid. She was rushed in for a life-saving operation.

The surgeon told us he’d insert wire coils into her brain to stop further swelling. ‘There’s a 30 per cent chance she won’t survive surgery,’ we were warned. ‘There’s also the possibility she could have a stroke or develop cerebral palsy.’

But we didn’t have a choice, so we paced the hospital corridors until, finally, we heard it had gone well. 


‘Thank you,’ I wept, filled with relief.

Tilly, who now has to be fed and given medication through a tube in her stomach, had more surgery in May. This time, surgeons closed off another vein causing the VGM to expand.

Jane Mahon's daughter Tilly has VGM
Jane Mahon/GoFundMe
Jane Mahon is raising money to take Tilly to Boston

We're raising cash to take Tilly to Boston

Jane Mahon/Supplied
Jane Mahon and her daughter Tilly

I'll do anything for my girl

Jane Mahon/Supplied

Now, at nearly two, Tilly is still the size of a one-year-old and has yet to start talking, so we are learning sign language with her.

Despite everything, she starts every day with a smile, for me, Matthew and her big brother, James, five.

We desperately want her to be operated on by Dr Darren Orbach, a surgeon in the US.  
He is meant to be the best in the world and has lots of experience treating children with Tilly’s condition.

However, when we realised we’d need a staggering $180,000 to fund the surgery, trip and ongoing treatment, we turned to the public for help.

So far we have been blown away to have received $60,000 and are making plans to take Tilly to Boston for surgery in October.

We’ll do everything we can for our beautiful brave girl. 

To help get Tilly to Boston go to gofundme.com/gettillytoboston


What is VGM?

• The condition is often diagnosed in the womb or soon after birth.

• It is caused by abnormal connections between arteries and veins in 
the brain.

• VGM can cause rapid head growth and heart failure in infancy.

• Treatment includes surgery on the abnormal veins, including blocking them.

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Recommended to you

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

My daughter’s brain was falling out

My daughter’s brain was falling out

New shocking treatment cures alcoholism

New shocking treatment cures alcoholism

I turn people into art!

I turn people into art!

Holly the heart hero

Holly the heart hero

{headline}

{headline}

30-year heartbreak  - who killed Kerry Turner?

30-year heartbreak - who killed Kerry Turner?

My runny nose was cancer

My runny nose was cancer

I was paralysed at the beach

I was paralysed at the beach

{headline}

{headline}

Horror at the servo - I was abducted and raped

Horror at the servo - I was abducted and raped

My husband forgot I was his wife so we wed twice

My husband forgot I was his wife so we wed twice

Empty nesters... so we adopted SEVEN kids!

Empty nesters... so we adopted SEVEN kids!

Back from the brink!

Back from the brink!

A cockatoo proposed to me!

A cockatoo proposed to me!

Brave Ellie - 420 days in hospital for a new heart!

Brave Ellie - 420 days in hospital for a new heart!

I woke up with no hands and feet

I woke up with no hands and feet

ThatsLife
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy
ThatsLife Magazine Subscribe
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • New Idea
  • Who
  • Girlfriend
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • New Idea food
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • All Recipes
  • 7plus
  • 7News
  • Sunrise
  • Starts at 60
  • The West Australian
  • Perth Now
  • 7mate
  • 7Sport
  • Hard to Find
© 2022 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Shop This Offer
Subscribe to That's Life!