General News
19 December, 2024
Making a difference: Horsham woman's living donation to medical research
Horsham woman donates to medical research to make a difference.
How many times have we heard someone say or have said ourselves: "I wish I could afford to make a difference in someone's life"?
Horsham woman Raelene Pfeiffer was one of those, and she did something about it.
She always knew she would donate to medical research if she had the opportunity.
After 58 years of hard work, she decided to downsize her assets after the death of her late husband, Ken, and follow up on her lifelong dream to make a difference.
Ms Pfeiffer generously donated to Diabetes Victoria, Victor Change Cardiac Research and the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute earlier this year.
Her reason for making these donations now, instead of leaving instructions in her will for the money to be distributed later, was the urgency she felt for research to find cures for conditions that affect so many people.
"Why wait? Why not make the donations now so people could benefit so much sooner," she said.
Ms Pfeiffer chose these three organisations because she had witnessed firsthand the challenges and heartbreak they had caused in her family and wanted to spare others.
Type 1 diabetes has affected her family for four generations.
As a child, she watched her father test his urine in a test tube over a Bunsen burner in the laundry, watching for the bright blue colour to appear, which meant he didn't have any sugar in his urine.
His syringes had to be boiled to disinfect them. It was pretty laborious, she recalled.
"We have come so far since then, and this shows how important research is," Ms Pfeiffer said.
"There have been many changes since I was first diagnosed, too.
"I have a pump now, and that makes life so much easier for me to manage my diabetes."
The pumps are wearable medical devices that supply a continuous flow of insulin underneath the patient's skin and are an alternative to insulin injections.
"My diabetes doesn't control my life as much as it used to 20 years ago because of the advancements in treatments," she said.
Her father was diagnosed when he was 16, and she was diagnosed when she was 18 after noticing she couldn't quench her thirst and knowing her family history. Her father died at 45 years old.
Ms Pfeiffer's son Dean was diagnosed with diabetes at 12, and her daughter Sharon was diagnosed at four years old.
Her sister was diagnosed at 20, her granddaughter at 26 and her brother at 73 with type 2 diabetes.
"If a cure is found for these conditions, imagine the personal cost and suffering that would be avoided and how much pressure it would take off the health system," she said.
"We need cures, and we need to advance our treatments; only money will help do that."
Her husband Ken's life was affected by several different cancers, her niece, two sisters, two sister-in-laws, and family friends have been affected by breast cancer.
"We all know someone who has been affected by cancer, so I'd encourage anyone to consider making their donation while they can and not wait years to do it through their will," she said.
Ms Pfeiffer said she is always concerned about people who don't have private health coverage or cannot afford the treatment they need, and that needs to change.
"We can't rely on the government. Our current health system is inadequate; specialist appointments have long wait times, and even local GPs are booked well in advance," Ms Pfeiffer said.
"With the cost of living creating hardship for so many in our community, it must be hard to find funds for the added expense of medical fees and medication."
A recent breakthrough in breast cancer research confirmed the importance of funding, and her donations could make a difference in many more lives through increased research.
"I didn't make the donation for attention but I did decide to make it public because it might encourage others to do the same instead of leaving money sitting in the bank, it could help find cures."
In November this year, Ms Pfeiffer signed up to swim nine kilometres for breast cancer in '9 for November.'
"I was a swimming teacher years ago," she said.
"I recently had shoulder surgery, and I have had open heart surgery too, but by swimming 20 laps a day over 30 days, I raised $1,283.29."
Ms Pfeiffer said, "Health is everything", but "music has helped".
"I have music playing all the time, which has been an amazing help throughout my life," she said.
Anyone thinking about donating to a charity may find out, as Ms Pffeifer did after her decision to contribute to her favourite charities, that their accountant may have some practical advice on the matter.
"I didn't do this because of any tax incentives, but it could encourage others to donate, so it's worth knowing," she said.
Tax Benefits where the charity is a registered Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), an exemption from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) may apply, such that any capital gain on the asset bequeathed to a charity is disregarded in the hands of the charity.