Larissa
pnda
Asking for help felt scary but reaching out to Gidget Foundation Australia turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.
When my daughter was born, I expected the usual challenges of new motherhood. What I never expected was sitting in a hospital room six weeks later, hearing the words: “Your baby has cystic fibrosis”.
In that moment, my whole world tilted. One day I was learning how to settle a newborn, the next I was learning how to manage a lifelong medical condition. Everyone was focused on my daughter, which made sense. But no one saw what was happening quietly inside me. The shock, the fear, the grief I didn't know how to name.
My sleep suffered, my confidence crumbled, I struggled to connect with my baby and husband, and some days even breathing felt like a task. This wasn't just new mum worry. This was postpartum depression, but I didn't have the words for it. I felt alone in a world that no longer made sense.
Asking for help felt scary but reaching out to Gidget Foundation Australia turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. For the first time, I felt truly seen as a person carrying trauma, fear and overwhelming emotional weight.
With my Gidget Clinician, I had a safe place to speak honestly, to cry, unravel and learn to rebuild. The support I received didn’t just help me, it made me a better mother and partner.
Asking for help isn't weakness. It's courage.