A little over 3 years ago, Kat Abianac became a mother of two, but discovered while in the birthing suite that her son, Parker, had down syndrome. He was hospitalized just short of two months due to severe sleep apnea and laryngomalacia. He was also on oxygen for the first 16 months of his life.

In order to care for Parker and give him the attention he needed, Kat took extended leave from work. She also had to rebuild her life as a single parent, while ensuring Parker was able to face his many health challenges face on.

Life has been hard though, being a single parent and parenting a child with special needs. Kat shares these challengers on her online space, Parker Myles, which is website sharing about her family, her thoughts, social issues and about other people in the community. The website has been a great source of encouragement to parents who raise kids with down syndrome.

Earlier this year, Parker was named Bonds Baby of the year. Despite being trolled for entering the competition, Parker took out the major prize and will be part of Bonds advertising for the next 12 months.

But despite the wins, Kat knows that there are therapies she wishes she could afford to help Parker get the best start of life that he needs – so he can start school and live an amazing life that he deserves.

We all want our children to live to their full potential, but sometimes it’s a hard task to do on our own and it takes a village to help a struggling family get the much needed therapy they need.

Kat has reached to her community for help. Not only is Kat a dedicated single mum to her two, she also has the added pressure of ensuring Parker gets the right therapies so he can do things that many of us parents of 3 and a half year olds take for granted.

Parker is in need of participating in a home therapy course and having a dedicated home therapy room.

Communication is a challenge for Parker and the course and room will give the little guy a chance to be clearly communicating before he starts school.

Kat discovered the benefits of home therapy when Parker learned to walk. She knows that this therapy will help Parker learn to communicate more effectively whether it’s through sign, picture cards or using his little voice.

The course doesn’t come without its own challenges. The therapy is an exceptionally large time commitment. It will require Kat to quit her job, but she will do what it takes to ensure Parker can find his voice so that he can live with the benefits of the program for the rest of his life.

Kat admits, “This isn’t easy for me to do- I’ve never run a GoFundMe before and chucked it out there. In fact, I’ve avoided it for over two years. But avoiding asking for help, at Parker’s expense, isn’t an option when money is our ONLY barrier. I know what needs to be done.”

“All I want is for him to have the best possible shot I can give him, to be clearly communicating when he starts school.

And if he can say ‘I love you’ by the time I’m dressing him in his prep uniform, I’ll be sending every freaking one of you a hysterical, over the top voice message.”

Parker’s future is certainly bright. Let’s help Parker find his voice.

As a community, it can be a privilege to help one family at a time to meet the needs they require to raise children that are confident and inspire others, through their challenges.

For details on the program and more about Kat and Parker, head to the GoFundMe page here. You can also follow Parker’s progress on his Facebook page.