A mother of four suffered the heartbreaking death of two of her closest loved ones just six weeks apart, before learning she was also suffering from an incurable disease.
Melanie Nast Young, 45, from Bega on the New South Wales south coast, has been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that is causing her organs to stop working.
Ms. Young has alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, a genetic condition that causes significant damage to the lungs and liver.
The damage to his lungs has been so severe that they are only functioning at 25 percent of their capacity. His heart is also damaged and there is a possibility that his liver could be damaged.
Tragically, a potentially life-saving lung and heart transplant is not possible due to a neurological movement disorder called dystonia that Ms Young has suffered from for 10 years.
Ms Young was told she only had six months to live.
In March, Ms Young sadly lost her father to lung cancer, and to add to her grief, her ex-partner Todd Young passed away shortly after, leaving three of Ms Young’s children without their father.
It’s been a truly devastating year.
Melanie Nast Young (pictured) is a 45-year-old mother of four from Bega on the New South Wales south coast and suffers from a rare genetic condition which is causing her organs to stop functioning.
Ms Young (pictured) is well-liked in the fishing community, having run her business Young Guns Fishing Adventures with her ex-partner Todd Young, father of three of her children.
With Mr. Young, Ms. Young introduced thousands of people to the world of fishing, including people with disabilities and at-risk children.
Ms. Young’s best friend, Mischelle, said: “It’s the worst story… you couldn’t even write a worse story.”
Ms. Young is well-liked in the fishing community, having run her business Young Guns Fishing Adventures with her former partner Todd Young, father of three of her children.
Together with Mr. Young, he introduced thousands of people to the world of fishing for over 20 years, including people with disabilities and at-risk children.
Mischelle told Daily Mail Australia what Ms Young suffers from due to dystonia, a movement disorder that causes muscles to contract.
“I’ve seen her completely twist and contort and… I’ve seen her… even have her leg turned completely the other way,” Mischelle said.
Despite suffering from the ravages of dystonia, Ms. Young still worked with Young Guns Fishing Adventures.
TO GoFundMe The page was set up by Ms Young’s friends to “give Mel some resources so she can do some special things while she still can.”
The page also says: ‘Mel would like to spend some special moments with her children before the cruel hereditary disease ends everything.’
Sadly, Ms. Young’s close friend Frank Prokop, who organized the GoFundMe campaign, said Ms. Young is not well enough to check off any of the items on her bucket list.
He praised Ms. Young’s positive attitude.
Ms Young’s partner Todd sadly passed away earlier this year, they both love fishing.
Todd and Melanie share three children who may now also lose their mother.
Frank Prokop, a close friend of Ms. Young, praised Ms. Young’s positive attitude: “She (says) I’m not brave, I’m just stoic. You just have to get up and do it the next day, because there are no second chances.”
“She says I’m not brave, I’m stoic. You just have to get up and do it the next day, because there are no second chances.”
“It may not be fair, but it is the reality,” he said.
Mr Prokop said Ms Young empowered women through fishing.
“His passions in life are teaching the next generation how to move forward and overcome obstacles and he uses fishing as his mechanism,” he said.
“Fishing is a male-dominated activity, so she came and said ‘here I am.'”
Mischelle said Ms. Young’s children have struggled to cope with their mother’s illness while still coming to terms with their father’s death.
Mr Prokop said Ms Young (pictured) empowered women through fishing: “Her passions in life are teaching the next generation how to move forward and overcome obstacles and she uses fishing as her mechanism.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Ms. Young’s children.
“I think it’s something so unimaginable that they can’t cope with it,” he said.
“It’s horrible.”
The Go Fund Me page reveals what Ms Young’s children are going through.
‘Mel’s youngest son is only 7 years old and has seen too much for someone so young.’
Mr Prokop said the money raised through GoFundMe will help support Ms Young’s three children, who will be orphaned, and her current partner, Jason, who will be a single father to Ms Young’s seven-year-old son.
“She is worried about the legacy she will leave for her children,” he said.
‘I think she’s more interested now in saving things for the kids, for their education and stuff like that.’
As the GoFundMe page says: ‘Please consider giving back to someone who has given so much.
The GoFundMe campaign to help Ms. Young has so far raised more than $5,000.
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