Supporting our Mum Iva through cancer

28/09/2023

🌺 Kia ora everyone! 🌺

An update about our wonderful Mumma Iva.

🌸 Mum is finally back home in Titahi Bay with us after spending almost a month in the Wellington Hospital due to an infection in her arm. Mum is a fighter, and this time was no different, she fought this infection with all of her might.

🌼 Thank you, to all of our communities in Aotearoa New Zealand who have supported Mum, James and I, as well as Peter Teu before he returned to PNG, throughout these challenging times. Thank you for the amazing food, the endless supply of chocolate, coffees and treats, for the warm socks and blankies for Mum, for the visits, hugs, loving messages… for being there for us in every possible way.

🧡 Mum has been showered by the love and care of an amazing team in the Cancer Ward in Wellington Hospital. Words cannot express the level of care, love and respect Mum has received by every doctor, every nurse, physio, as well as the incredible palliative nurse and social worker in the ward. It has been awe-inspiring seeing all of you work to look after Mum every day since we arrived at the hospital. You all perform miracles every day and Mum misses every single one of you! 💫✨

💜 Now at home, Mum has again been showered by the love and support of the Mary Potter Hospice team in Porirua. We are all in disbelief at the tsunami of care, support and aroha shown by this team… you are a lifeline for so many whānau like ours. 🌾

🌻 Thank you to all of you who have kindly donated to Mum’s ongoing medical expenses. Many of you who did it via the GiveaLittle page, set your donations to be anonymous, so we cannot see your name, but we want to thank you with all of our hearts for your generosity. This support allows us to continue providing Mum with the care she needs and deserves. ❤️

🌊🐚💙 It has been beautiful to see Mum waking up every day looking at the sea, at the pōhutukawa and birds outside her window; eating the masterful meals made by James every day; doing little dances to my old school salsa and trova; drinking her cappuccinos while telling stories, laughing, reading… being her amazing, fiercely intelligent, sharp, wise, self.

♥️ An enormous thank you to my amazing parents in law Elizabeth and David, who dropped everything and flew to Wellington when they saw us needing support. Mum Iva and Elizabeth have now become inseparable, they call each other sisters, and after Mum tried Elizabeth’s cooking, there is simply no way we can match it… we keep on trying lol 😆 Also, a massive thank you to you Jonathan, for opening your home to us to rest, eat and shower while taking shifts at the hospital, Mum loved your visits and chats and the hot water bottle of course. 🌼 Thank you also to the wonderful Pasifika community in the Cancer Ward, who while looking after their own loved ones going through cancer, took the time to feed us delicious fresh fish, cassava, kaukau, kokoda, and also the time to sit with Mum and us to talk story. Finally, thank you to our wonderful friends and family who spent hours packing, cleaning and helping us moving house in order to provide Mum with a more suitable whare (a beautiful space of healing nestled in the trees) 🏡

🌺 We are lost for words to thank every single one of you in our communities for your love and support these last few months. Mum says that she can feel every part of Aotearoa wrapping her with love and strength, and we couldn’t agree more… we feel overwhelmed by your aroha… our backs are straighter and our hearts bigger thanks to you all.

🌸 Mum has loved having a few visitors come to the house over the last few days, so please feel free to drop past for a cup of tea, Mum is always keen for a good kōrero and a laugh.
We know that so many of you have given so much already, but for our Wellington whānau we are searching for a couple of things for around the house, in case you have spare ones lying around:

✨ One of those big L-shaped pillows, we don’t know what they’re called lol, but it’d be great for Mum to rest her arm on.
✨ Diffuser – if any of you have an essential oil diffuser that you no longer use, we would love that for Mum’s room, she feels very comforted by it.
✨ An old used iPad – for Mum to have video calls with a bigger screen, also Mum has become very interested in maps 🗺 she wants to have some time going through the maps of Aotearoa, Hawai’i and Ecuador she is saying 😊

Much love 🏔💙🌊

Lorena and James

📸 photo of Mum Iva at home ♥️

18/08/2023

Mum Iva has arrived to Aotearoa! She’s with us at home in Titahi Bay, all wrapped up and lying by the fire 🔥 Amazing to have our brother Peter Teu with us too 🥰♥️

Thank you everyone for your aroha and support getting Mum here! Mum had her first hospital appointment yesterday and already has all the nurses falling in love with her 😍🌸🌺♥️

13/08/2023

Kia ora everyone,

We are writing with fantastic news! Last week we finally received confirmation that our Mum Iva's medical visa has been approved. We are so beyond relieved and excited to know that Mum will be with us soon and receiving the treatment and care she needs. This is all thanks to your incredible support, encouragement and generosity. Thank you for the calls, messages, kai, and love throughout these weeks as we navigated this very complex visa process.

After receiving the news of the visa we got Mum a ticket straight away and she'll be flying to Aotearoa on Wednesday ❤ She will then fly from Auckland to Wellington on Thursday and we will take her directly to Bowen Hospital to meet with the oncologist. We will keep you all updated about her treatment plans and how she is doing. Mum's youngest son Peter Teu is traveling with her to ensure she gets here safely, and he'll be with us for a week or so.

Thanks to our wonderful whānau and friends we have raised just over $7000 towards Mum's treatment through the Give A Little page and direct donations. We still have a long way to go and are organising a fundraising extravaganza in late October. We'll be in touch with dates and details in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please do share the Give A Little page if you feel comfortable with this.

For now we are focusing on moving house to provide Mum with a healing private space. A request for our communities in Wellington and Porirua - if you have any spare warm clothing or jackets that would fit Mum (we can send details of this if needed), please let us know. She has never experienced a winter and will be in for a cold-weather shock on Wednesday!

Thank you again for all your support and love. Mum is really looking forward to seeing you all. We will focus on settling her at home for the first few days once she arrives, and after that we look forward to having you come to visit for a cup of tea and some kai.

Much love,

Lorena and James

📸 photo of Mum Iva in Aotearoa back in 2016🥰

24/06/2023

Kia ora e te whānau,

We're so excited to share that Mum has been accepted as a patient at Bowen Cancer Centre in Wellington. Sorry for our silence over the past few weeks as we navigate the process of getting a NZ medical visa for Mum. We are grateful to all of you for your support as your contributions have allowed Mum to access her first appointments at the hospital.

The cancer specialist at Bowen has provided us with a new estimate of treatment costs for Mum. We are over the moon that these initial costs are lower than we originally thought: approximately NZ $70,000 for the first stages of treatment including all the costs of getting Mum to Aotearoa.

Thank you so much whānau, we feel your love and strength holding us from within.

Please do share this fundraising page with anyone you think may be able to help: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/supporting-our-mum-iva-through-cancer

If you have any fun and exciting fundraising ideas, please let us know too!

We will be putting out details of a few upcoming fundraising events this week. Keep an eye on this page for updates.

We can't wait to have Mum with us in Aotearoa. She is in Port Moresby with whānau while we confirm the last stages of her medical visa. She is feeling strong and ready to begin treatment in Aotearoa - and wants to see the snow for the first time!

We'll update you all as soon as we know Mum's arrival date.

Much aroha,

Lorena & James

Help us to provide life-saving cancer treatment to our Mum

28/05/2023

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐦

Many of you will have met our Mum, Iva Magaga. Mum is a proud Gunantuna Tolai woman from Matalau village in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. She comes from a long line of respected leaders, and now has many descendants of her own.

Mum is one of the most influential educators in Papua New Guinea. In every corner of the country Mum is recognised and welcomed by her many students and colleagues. Mum has been a teacher, a principal, and now provides advice and wisdom to the education system. She guided her schools and communities through the volcanic eruptions that devastated East New Britain in 1994, and through difficult changes in the political, economic and educational environment in Papua New Guinea. Under Mum’s leadership the schooling system in East New Britain has expanded to cater for students from all walks of life. Last year Mum built a new school, the Baliora Education Institute, for students without a pathway in the mainstream education system.

Mum came to know Lorena when they were working closely together in East New Britain many years ago. She has since formally adopted Lorena according to Tolai custom. She has spent many months with Lorena in Aotearoa, where she shared her wisdom and made connections with so many of you. Those of you who met Mum in person can understand the enormous love that Lorena has for her.


𝐌𝐮𝐦’𝐬 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

To our great sadness Mum has been diagnosed with serious breast cancer at 66 years of age. The cancer has spread to the bone of her upper arm, and several weeks ago she fell and broke her arm just below the shoulder. In order to save Mum’s arm, we flew her urgently to Port Moresby, and she has now had an operation to rejoin the broken bone. However the cancer remains, and the doctors have been very clear that Mum requires urgent treatment.

The doctors have recommended a course of chemotherapy, and if this is successful in shrinking the tumour they will attempt surgery to remove it. Mum is otherwise strong and healthy apart from the cancer, which gives us hope that she has the strength to face this challenge.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩

Until now the two of us and some of Mum’s family have supported her medical expenses, which have only been available in private hospitals in Papua New Guinea. However our savings are now exhausted and we are unable to continue providing her the treatments she needs.

We estimate that the total cost of Mum’s cancer treatment will be at least NZD $200,000 (PGK 425,000). We are hoping to bring Mum to Aotearoa for treatment, which the doctors have recommended as the best course of action. Currently due to the financial situation she can only receive the limited options available in Port Moresby.

We know that Mum has touched the lives of many people, in Papua New Guinea, in Aotearoa, and all across the Pacific. She has educated many of the leaders of Papua New Guinea, and inspired educators around the world. We can only wish for this to continue.
In this very difficult situation we would be endlessly grateful for any contributions from our communities in Aotearoa, Papua New Guinea, and beyond.

We have opened a Give A Little page for koha/contributions towards Mum’s medical costs: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/supporting-our-mum-iva-through-cancer

Please contribute if this is possible for you - everything donated will go towards Mum’s medical costs. (Let us know if a direct bank transfer will work better for you, and we will send you the details).

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮

We know that this is a very difficult time for a lot of people, and so we don’t make this request lightly – but at the moment we find ourselves with no other options.

Right now Mum is in the hospital in Port Moresby, and is determined to walk out on her own two feet. We all hope that her strength and hunger for life will keep her with us for years to come.

She is looking forward to continuing her work of education for her province, and in the new school she built last year. Most of all, Mum wants to write down some of the stories of her people for future generations, especially the stories of the elders who have guided and inspired her life. We are all doing everything we can to ensure this can happen.

Thank you again for any contribution you can make. We will also be holding a series of fundraising events in the next few months - watch this space! We really appreciate everyone's prayers and aroha.

Much love,

Lorena & James

Help us to provide life-saving cancer treatment to our Mum