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“We’ve never had a family holiday, we just needed something good to happen to us, the timing of this SOS is amazing!”
The Martinez family (pictured above – Edwin, Hezekiah, Izabella & Julie), were very deserving recipients of a family weekend at Seaworld as the 96five SOS returned to the Brisbane airwaves for 2020.
Julie Martinez is a Regent’s Park mum of two, and was struggling to keep the tears back as she told her family’s story to Ken and Nicky. 19-month-old Hezekiah has an undiagnosed medical condition which has caused developmental delays. His condition has also resulted in seizures, with Julie telling 96five that her son needs constant care and attention.
“He always needs supervision as we don’t know what triggers seizures for him at the moment. Just two weeks ago he had a really big seizure in hospital which lasted for two and a half hours.”
Julie said that family life is paying a massive toll with life being so heavily centred around Hezekiah’s care. The bills are stacking up, with Julie unable to work due to the full time responsibility of caring for a child with special needs.
“We’re constantly in and out of hospital, and missing out on church and our connect group. It’s a full time job and with hospital you just don’t know when you’ll have to go in or how long you’ll be staying.”
Another result of Hezekiah’s condition is that he has lost his swallowing reflex and needs to be fed via a tube. It’s yet another issue that weighs heavy on Julie and husband Edwin.
“He has a peg, which is a hole in his tummy that has the tube. There isn’t any timeframe on how long he’ll be with the tube. We hope and pray that it won’t be that long and he’ll be able to enjoy food like we do. We just don’t know, he’s never been a textbook child.”
A Tick Off The Bucket List
With the constant threat of seizures and hospital stays, as well as the financial burden of medical bills, travel and parking, life hasn’t been easy these past two years. To make matters worse the family suffered a break in recently, further adding to the stress.
One thing that Julie had longed for was a family trip to Seaworld. She had grown up in a single parent family where money was tight. A trip to a theme park was out of reach for her mum who worked hard to provide for the family and did the best she could, so when Julie and Edwin started their family a weekend at Seaworld was at the top of the list.
“There’s been so much negative stuff happening, Edwin and I would say we just need a holiday or something good to happen. This SOS is an absolute God given thing and we are in awe of the timing of it all. Because of all the unpredictability of Hezakiah we’ve never had a family holiday.”
The Martinez family wanted to thank everyone who has walked with them over the last 2 years, especially the International City Church at Newmarket and the RACQ, where Edwin works in the learning and development team.
With this week being Feeding Tube Awareness Week the timing couldn’t have been better to support this beautiful family, and remind them that they’re not alone as they journey with Hezekiah.
The Martinez’s will be off for a weekend to Australia’s number one marine park thanks to our good friends at Seaworld! They’ll be staying for a weekend in a premium queen room with buffet breakfast, with unlimited entry into the theme park for the whole weekend. Check out all the stay, play and relax deals at the Seaworld Resort website.
If you know someone who’s deserving of a 96five SOS nominate them here.
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