Nola was a devoted mum, and a highly respected member of the medical fraternity in the close-knit community of Port Macquarie on the Mid North Coast of NSW. In her life she supported many charities, including CMRI, and after her death the gift that she left in her Will to CMRI is continuing that support for future generations.
Would you consider leaving a legacy just like Nola has?
In 1962 when Nola’s youngest daughter Gai was 4 years old, she started getting headaches and feeling unwell.
After what Nola thought would be a routine visit to their local GP, Gai was referred to the Children’s Hospital in Camperdown, Sydney for more testing, and unfortunately was diagnosed with a brain tumour which required multiple surgeries.
Gai’s elder sister, who was 7 at the time, remembers vising her sister. “At the time I didn’t understand what was happening – except my little sister had bandages on her head, and our family was separated for long periods of time”, she told us.
When the doctors and specialists told Nola that there was nothing further that could be done, Nola brought Gai home to Part Macquarie knowing that her precious daughter only had a short time to live.
And sadly Gai passed away later that year.
With her background as a nurse, and from the heartache of watching her child battle and ultimately lose her life, Nola understood the importance of supporting medical research, and became an avid supporter of CMRI until her own death in 2018.
Her final gift was a gift in her Will to CMRI to ensure we’re able to carry on funding research projects to help children like her late daughter Gai.
As Nola’s elder daughter says “Mum’s connection to CMRI was so important to her. She knew that through her ongoing donations, and the final gift she made in her Will, she was making a real difference to the lives of other children and their families.
Mums care and compassion was such an inspiration to me. That’s why I’m supporting CMRI, both now and into the future with a gift in my Will, to continue her legacy.”