Thousands of dollars raised to support Katanning family through final months together

A Katanning family have received the heartbreaking news their newborn baby girl has a rare and incurable genetic condition that has left her with precious little time to live. Only seven weeks after she entered the world, Rosie Dark was diagnosed with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy, also called Werdnig-Hoffmann disease. The disease stops the motor neurons communicating with muscles, leading to muscle wasting and loss of function. Type 1 SMA — the most severe form — affects an estimated one in 10,000 births, or about three children born in WA each year. “We still cannot fathom how we are supposed to say goodbye to our sweet angel, Rosie, and the coming weeks will haunt us for the rest of our lives,” mother Rachel Dark said. The family of four revealed they had to make the “devastating decision” to bring Rosie home from the hospital last Friday, so she could spend her remaining days surrounded by her loved ones. “Rosie will never know anything but the purest love,” Mrs Dark said. Mrs Dark’s best friend, Chantel Cant, was shattered by the diagnosis. She helped the family set up a GoFundMe account so Rachel, Michael and their son, Tommy, 3, could spend the rest of Rosie’s life together without the “stress of work or bills”. “To see such a wonderful family going through such difficult times is really hard,” she said. “We have been friends since we were five years old; she is really like family to me. “The hardest part is not being able to be there. “I live in Melbourne and the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria means the borders are closed.” Within three days, the Katanning community had dug deep along with friends, relatives and colleagues from around the country to raise more than $22,000 for the beloved family. In a post on Facebook, Mrs Dark thanked everyone who had reached out to her family. “Our hearts are breaking and the worst is yet to come,” Mrs Dark wrote on Facebook. “Words cannot express our gratitude to all the amazing people we have in our lives.” To make a donation, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-dark-family-spend-this-time-together.