By Margaret Maccoll
Desperate, despondent and depressed are just some of the emotions Kirk Shearer and Hilary Clear are feeling six weeks after 38-year-old Kirk suffered a heart attack that has set their lives on a downward spiral.
The Sunshine Beach couple are appealing to the community for help as Kirk recovers and they try to rebuild the business they see fading away.
On Sunday 16 August Hilary and Kirk were planning to go to lunch. Kirk went for a shower. Hilary began hearing unusual noises coming from the bathroom.
“He was still conscious. He was saying ’I can’t breathe,“ Hilary said.
She called an ambulance and he was rushed to Nambour Hospital.
Initial tests showed everything was normal. His excruciating chest pain continued and further tests revealed heart failure.
“They rushed him to Sunshine Coast University Hospital to the Cardiac Ward,“ Hilary said.
Kirk’s coronary artery had a 95 per cent blockage and on the following Tuesday he had emergency surgery.
Hilary said with her family in Ireland and Kirk’s in Adelaide and few friends in Noosa they felt very alone in their time of need.
“It’s just me and Kirk and our dog Buttons,“ she said.
Unable to drive Hilary said she didn’t know what she would have done without the help of their sole friends Andy and Jodie Gaul who drove her to and from the hospital.
“They were so good to me when I didn’t know what the hell was going on,“ she said.
After six days in hospital Kirk returned home expecting to recover quickly only to have a second heart attack and return to hospital where they found another artery blockage of 40 per cent.
Hilary said before his heart attack Kirk didn’t drink or smoke and barely took a Panadol. “He was full of life,“ she said.
Now he’s on eight different medications for the rest of his life.
Kirk said looking back he’d had symptoms including chest cramps, pains in his neck and jaw but nothing had been detected on visits to the doctors and it was put down to his working so hard.
For the past six years Kirk has worked diligently to establish their business, Mobile Dog grooming Noosa, building it up from nothing.
“I’m watching it fade away. I’m just sitting here panicking,“ Kirk said. “Our customers are starting to get annoyed because we can’t get to them,“ Hilary said.
“It’s making him slip into a deep depression. It’s breaking him and there’s absolutely no income.“
Hilary said before Kirk’s heart attack their business was a success and life was the best it had ever been for them.
Since then she has stayed by Kirk’s side, taking him to doctors appointments and been “petrified to leave him“.
She said because of taking time out to care for Kirk she lost her job last week. “There’s absolutely no income,“ she said.
“I’ve gone to St Vincents and Foodbank. I’m trying so hard to keep Kirk happy and safe. It’s completely turned our lives upside down. I didn’t know where to go or what to do.“
Hilary put a post on social media asking for someone to work in the business they are unable to operate.
She said she was overwhelmed with beautiful messages of support from people in the community but no one had come forward to work in the business.
Hilary was astounded that one woman, Jennifer Williams, who she didn’t know, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the couple.
“It’s so beautiful,“ she said. “It would help us so much.“ Hilary said the page had a goal of $5000 and had already reached over $4000 which she hoped would cover their bills and back rent.
Kirk said they were already receiving final notices to pay their rent.
If you can help Hilary and Kirk email hilarymclear@gmail.com or visit GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/f/help-out-kirk-and-hilary-clear?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet.
