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As a newly single mother raising two teenage sons, Cosh faced the daunting challenge of establishing a successful farm. Her efforts were continually thwarted by a severe drought and the devastating effects of the paralysis tick on her livestock.
“The drought struck hard,” Cosh shared with 9news.com.au. “Then the paralysis tick came and wiped out all the calves, took the horse, the bull, the chickens, a dog, and a cat.”
She explained, “You’re just trying to get through each day.”
“A friend visited me and remarked, ‘You’re not doing well, are you?’ I replied, ‘No, I’m not. Something’s definitely off.’
Fortunately, Farm Angels stepped in, providing Cosh with gift vouchers. These vouchers enabled her to purchase tick prevention tags, much-needed groceries, and powdered milk for the calves that survived.
“I don’t know to to explain it, it took the pressure off just to survive,” Cosh said.
“I was able to keep my head above water.”
But the workload didn’t let up and neither did the fatigue.
”I’m a single mum with two boys and if something needs doing, it’s on me,” Cosh said.
“There’s no one else to step in. If the fences need fixing, I fix them.
“If the cattle need attending to, I do it.”
It wasn’t until she suddenly lost her eyesight after a day of intense work that Cosh suspected she may be seriously ill.
She drove the hour into Kingaroy to see an optometrist and was delivered a bombshell.
“She said, ‘Have you heard of MS? I don’t want to stress you out, but we have to act now, I’m going to ring a specialist’,” Cosh recalled.
Before she had even got home, Cosh received a call to say a specialist would see her in Brisbane the next morning.
Rattled and fearful, she accepted the appointment, but with her eyesight deteriorating, she had no idea how she would get there or who would care for her kids or her farm while she was away.
“I was in so much pain, I was so tired, I was so over the world, I was so frightened and I had these two little boys with me.
“I’m not an emotional person, really I’m not, but I tell you what, I broke down this day.”
By the next morning, Cosh had rallied her village and was on her way to Brisbane with a friend from Dalby, while her mum travelled the seven hours from Charleville to be there for her kids when they got home from school.
A neurologist at the Mater Hospital confirmed a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a chronic, progressive autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Cosh was hospitalised for five days to undergo intense steroid treatment, which restored her sight before she was able to return to her farm.
Not long after she arrived home, she received another call from Farm Angels, who weren’t even aware of her diagnosis.
“I was coming out of hospital, they didn’t even know I had MS, they were just following up.
“It was at my worst stage, and they were ringing me up just to see how I was.”
Cosh has had one other major relapse since diagnosis, during which she temporarily lost the use of her legs, and she regularly battles with neuropathy and fatigue, but she says she’s in a good place now, thanks to the support of her friends, family and, crucially, Farm Angels.
”I was going to fail,” she said.
“I was on that tipping edge.
“If (Farm Angels) hadn’t done what they did, I don’t think I’d be here.
“Since they’ve helped me, I’ve literally doubled my capacity in my cattle.
Farm Angels founder Tash Johnston said farmers are under significant cost-of-living pressure.
“There are no incremental pay rises in farming, only rising bills,” Johnston said.
“That economic pressure is taking a huge toll on the mental health of farmers.”
Farmers also face a lack of health care services, she said.
“Farmers are facing extensive waitlists, long travel distances and limited options for care.
“The delay can have an impact on not only farmers’ mental health, but also their willingness to reach out.
“Too often, farmers are expected to just ‘keep going’.
“We need to break down those barriers so that asking for help is seen as a strength.
“We need to remind farmers that there is support available; they are not alone.”
The Farm Angels Christmas Appeal begins on November 17.