Geraldton woman Kate Paterson thanks community for support as she battles unknown neurological condition

A Geraldton woman known for her positivity and radiant personality has become a shell of herself due to a mystery neurological condition triggered out of nowhere one year ago. But despite her ordeal, Kate Paterson, a 49-year-old mother of two young adults, wants to say thank you to the community for getting behind her and her family in their time of need. Mrs Paterson has received support from hundreds of locals after she developed a brain disorder in 2021, one specialists still can’t give answers for. One year on, the Paterson family has received more than 150 GoFundMe donations, doubling their initial fundraiser target at a total of $20,220. Without private health insurance, the couple have been dealt $100,000 in medical bills, as well as travel expenses and adjusting to social and physical changes. Saturday marked one year since Mrs Paterson was abruptly struck down with the unknown illness and the family hoped some answers would arise in coming months. Mrs Paterson said although she remained positive and appreciative she was alive, it was tough dealing with vulnerability when she was used to spending her life as an independent go-getter. “I am forever grateful and I feel the love. I see everything a little bit crystal clear now and I feel I have my priorities right,” she said. “I was positive and happy in life, my mental health has always been amazing and I worked hard at that. I absolutely loved my job, it was my passion. My work mates and work place have been absolutely amazing. “I’m exhausted but I’m grateful it was me and not my kids. I’m lucky for the support of my husband otherwise I would have given up. “I’m so grateful to be alive, I have bad days but I wear a good mask.” Husband Martin Paterson said his wife’s strength to fight the debilitating mystery illness was doubled with support from friends, family and anonymous people in the community. “We thank everyone so much, it means so much to us as a family. We’ve had a rough 12 months,” he said. Mr Paterson said the drastic change to his wife’s lifestyle began in December 2021 when she received a second dose of the Pfizer vaccination. He said within two weeks, Mrs Paterson was flown by RFDS to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, with two specialists linking her sudden heart problems to the vaccine. Not only that, Mrs Paterson spends most of her days in bed due to nausea and vomiting, deals with confusion and short-term memory loss, has constant pins and needles in her hands and lacks immunity. “We’re still searching for an answer,” Mr Paterson said. “Kate’s life has completely changed and she’s never been the same since. “We were looking at moving because of the weather, hot weather makes it worse and she can’t get out of bed.” Dulux Trade Centre manager Brett Morrison said the store would donate Cool Roof paint to the family worth about $1600. “Cool Roof has properties that cut down the UV rays and will help with reducing the heat inside the house,” he said. “It’s not a good thing that’s happened to her so anything we can do to help out, that’s what we will do.” The Paterson family thanked the whole community, family, The Leaning Tree school, Midwest Aero Medical and Dulux Trade Centre. To donate to the Patersons’ GoFundMe page, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-katie-get-her-shine-back.