Matt Walsh is a 47-year-old man who lives either at his sister's flat in Sydney or his brother-in-law’s house in Jervis Bay.
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Due to ill health over the last seven years, Matt has been left virtually homeless.
Living with his sister and brother-in-law has served him well, however, both their places are older and contain mould and paints that trigger a flare-up of Matt's symptoms.
Most nights he finds himself sleeping outside in a tent/hammock combination to ease the symptoms.
Matt has created a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $30,000 to help cover the costs of converting a budget van he purchased into a mobile living space.
“A safe space will give my body and mind a break and a chance to heal - I need to create a space to live in that’s free of all the factors that contribute to the inflammation symptoms and that stop my body from being able to heal,” Matt said.
Matt used to be a software technical architect working in Sydney who travelled widely. He once enjoyed a very active social life, enjoyed cross-fit, surfing, archery and fishing.
In 2011, he fell ill with what seemed to be the flu but presented other unusual symptoms such as extreme fatigue, mental confusion, disorientation, loss of memory and random physical aches and pains, all signs of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Matt has been chronically ill ever since and last Christmas his health took a complete nosedive where he lost 15kg over two months and developed a stutter, couldn't speak coherently, had extreme gut pain, numbness and pins and needles in his hands and feet as well as heart palpitations and chest pain.
Given these debilitating symptoms, Matt has been unable to work and maintain relationships with friends.
He has focused most of his time and money doing extensive research and undergoing tests to determine what triggered his illness.
Tests have revealed that Matt has extreme brain, gut and systemic inflammation with his immunologist stating that his recent ECG scan results looked like someone with Alzheimer’s.
It was also discovered that prior exposure to Biotoxin (mould) is mostly likely the cause and what started his illness and since then, further exposure to mould and various chemicals has exacerbated it as well as triggering his systemic inflammation and all other subsequent symptoms.
Matt's most recent clinical diagnosis states he has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Chronic Inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), with a small brain aneurysm which may be strongly contributing to his problems.
Matt is more than half way to his goal of raising $30,000 thanks to generous contributions via his Go Fund Me page.
In two months, people have contributed more than $18,000 to Matt.
