Donny's Health Story
Donny was a fighter and never gave up;
In the 80's, he endured 7 spinal operations and had a priest give him his final rights after the last one...he walked out of the hospital against all odds.
He was bitten by a white-tailed spider and spent 7 weeks in hospital fighting for his life.
He had a double lung transplant in 2007 where they told him he would be lucky to get 3 years...only to be told a few months later by the head of the transplant team that they didn't think he would be coming home.
His kidneys failed and as a result he developed multiple pulmonary embolisms and ended up on lifelong warfarin. Anybody who has ever been on warfarin knows how much fun that is...not.
He commenced dialysis 3 or 4 days of every week.
He suffered Cauda Equina in 2018 and underwent spinal surgery again, during which they discovered a growth on his pancreas.
After this surgery, he had a heart attack and wasn't expected to survive.
He became paraplegic and suffered another 2 heart attacks requiring stents as it was too risky to do open heart surgery.
The list goes on and on. Donny was a perfect example of resilience.
He never gave up, no matter how close to death he got, because he just wanted to get home to be with his family and return to work.
The wonderful parts of Donny
Donny was more then just his health battles.
He had a passion for his family, his Aboriginal culture and Australian Wildlife.
Donny accomplished so many things in his life - his greatest job he ever did was being "Mr Mum". He was blessed enough to be able to stay at home and successfully raise his children with the unwavering support of his wife, Cathy.
He has also been a Firefighter, a Truck Driver, and A Cultural Liaison Officer in QLD Prisons, and a NSW and Australian representative at sporting events, as well as a collector of many things; to name a few.
Who is behind Where's Donny?
Married since 1987, Cathy and Donny were inseperable. They are the definition of soul mates. Together, they had 4 children and an ever growing collection of gaboobies (grandchildren). They were able to travel to see some of the world: United Kingdom, Sweden, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore.
In Cathy's words, Donny is "my best friend, my soulmate and my confidante".
She's determined to continue his adventure.
Where is Donny going?
Leaving Brisbane Airport on the 28th of November 2023, Donny will be heading on an adventure! Travels include Sydney, Singapore, London, Krakow, Wroclow, Auschwitz, Prague, Berlin, Nuremburg, Saltzburg, Venice, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Stockholm, Rovaneimi, Copenhagen, Cologne, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Kendall, Chester, Ashton Castle in Ireland, The Cotswolds and The Lake District and various other places in the UK.
Help Donny continue his adventures!!
Why Frogs, Ducks, Garden Gnomes and Sunflowers?
As a child, Donny liked to tell people that his name was Frog.
His mum used to call him Quacker (hence the duck).
His family called him a Garden Gnome because he was vertically challenged with a fantastic moustache.
Sunflowers are a sentimental flower for Donny and his wife, Cathy.
These little treasures might be tiny, but it would be HUGE to see them travelling around, wherever you might take them.