Kim and Scott Breen were speechless. The couple had been paralysed with fear that they would lose their teenage daughter Callie if she didn't get life-changing surgery in Australia.
But then a chance meeting with a real estate agent at their local coffee shop in Ōmokoroa gave them reason to hope.
Your Realty owner Rachel Millard heard about Callie's plight and the Breens' need to raise funds to cover trip costs.
She told them she would give them any money she made from a property she had just listed for sale.
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Kim, a teacher aide at Ōmokoroa Point School for 20 years, was stunned and initially refused the offer. “I was like, 'Rachel, I can't,' and she went, 'Well, don't do it for you, do it for Callie.'"
Seventeen-year-old Callie has a rare genetic condition that has caused severe abdominal pain. She has barely left the house over fears she will have a major pancreatic flare-up.
The pain started just before her 13th birthday, and she has been in and out of hospital 24 times. Last year she was finally diagnosed with a PRSS1 gene mutation, which helped explain why she had been in so much pain.
Callie has been suffering from a chronic genetic condition since the age of 12. Photo / Supplied
The family met with her specialist in April this year and was told a Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Autotransplantation was the best and only option. The 15-hour surgery had to be carried out in Sydney because of the specialist expertise and equipment required.
Kim said it had been heartbreaking watching her daughter suffer. “When [the specialist] offered her this surgery, she was like, 'Do it because if you don't, I don't think I can go on much longer.'"
Callie takes 24 tablets a day, including nerve blockers and digestive tablets, to manage the condition. She left school halfway through Year 10 because of fears she would have a flare-up in class. She was home-schooled for a year and a half before even that became too hard.
She has had some very dark days, Kim said. “She won't go out by herself or even for a walk or anything because she's just so worried that something's going to happen while she's out.”
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Doctors in Sydney have deemed her the perfect candidate for the procedure, but the Breens are waiting for approval from Health New Zealand. “All we're waiting for is the person who holds the purse strings to go, 'Yeah OK then, we'll pay for it.'”
Kim said the family would still need to cover the cost of the trip to Sydney and Callie's recovery in Australia. She will have to spend at least six weeks in Sydney while she recovers from the major operation, and the Breens will take unpaid leave to be there with her.
“Because if they [Health New Zealand] don't pay for it or if they can't pay for it or if something's happening, we need to find a way to do that," Kim said.
“If I have to sell my property to do it, I will. I'll do anything to get her out of this pain because I'd rather be renting and not owning as long as it means that she's still on this Earth."
The commission earned from the sale of a 1960s bach in Ōmokoroa will be used to ease the family's financial burden. Photo / Supplied
The bach, owned by the same family for almost 70 years, was sold within a week of hitting the market. Photo / Supplied
Your Realty team, from left, Simon Fowler, Emma Norton and Rachel Millard with the cheque they will present to the Breens. Photo / Supplied
A colleague at the school had set up a Givealittle page for her, which has just reached $6000, but the commission from the sale of the Omokoroa Road property will give the fund a hefty boost.
Rachel told OneRoof that she had been friends with Kim since her own twin sons had attended primary school with Callie’s older brother.
She said Kim had given so much to the community, caring for children with special needs, and she was pleased to be able to do something to help her.
“They’ve been through hell and back. Kim’s just an awesome lady, and she’s got a lot of people here that know her. And she gives so much, so this is just a way of giving back.”
Rachel said the 1950s bach on Ōmokoroa Road was the perfect property with which to help the Breens. It had been owned by the same family for almost 70 years, and the vendors were happy to get on board. “They are not connected, but they are really excited about doing it. They felt it was a really loved thing to do because their house is a bit iconic in Ōmokoroa.”
The three-bedroom bach was listed on October 15 with an asking price of $875,000. It was snapped up a week later.
Rachel was stunned by the amount of interest, telling OneRoof that she received three offers after the first open home, and five offers in total. On Friday, she sent OneRoof a photo of the cheque that she and her team planned to give to the Breens. On it was a life-changing number and one that speaks to the kindness in Ōmokoroa: $26,250.
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