Kingaroy farmer Kate Cosh thought she had lost everything – her job, her home, her cattle – but nothing – nothing – compared to the moment she lost her vision.
After Kate was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) doctors were thankfully able to restore her sight but her livelihood on the land was at risk.
Farm Angels were a lifeline for Kate and her two young boys. Now, she’s giving back as an ambassador for Flanno for a Farmer.
“I can tell you one thing, if Farm Angels hadn’t helped me when they did, I wouldn’t be where I am now,“ she said.
“And I’ve stepped up, I’m following my dream. I haven’t gone backwards, I’ve gone forwards. And that’s because Farm Angels believed in me.
“And, another thing to get through life, whether it’s a happy time, sad time or in the middle, you need the team of people. It’s your friends, it’s your family that you have around you.
“And each family member or friend has their own little niche of helpfulness.“
Kate is a single mother of two boys and a cattle farmer from Kingaroy.
In 2021, she lost her job, house and car.
Kate then lost one of the few things she had left – her cattle – after they were riddled with ticks. Already hanging on by a thread, she was hit hard by drought and came dangerously close to running out of hay.
Amid the heartache of losing her cattle, Kate experienced extreme fatigue, something she just passed off as a reaction to the long hours she was working to make ends meet.
Then, one day, Kate began to lose her vision. She immediately sought medical help where she was later diagnosed with MS.
Thankfully, doctors were able to restore the vision she had lost, but warned that rest was essential to prevent future flare-ups. Kate knew she would struggle with the idea of “rest“ when it came to her livelihood.
While managing her MS and struggling to keep her cattle alive, Kate sold her property to buy a more mobile-friendly property where she did everything – built the house, did the mustering, the trucking, the plumbing – all herself.
During this time, Kate was still struggling to put food on the table for her two young boys, Hunter, 16 and Fletcher, 14. While the MS diagnosis brought clarity, it also forced Kate to plan carefully for her health and future.
Her two boys work tirelessly at home with little reward, noting that even small treats such as packets of lollies or chips were out of their budget.
“The two little cherubs have literally been with me through everything,“ Kate said. “So wherever I go, those two have been glued to me. I homeschool them and we all work on the farm together.“
The stress of her situation caused her MS flared up again, this time she started to lose feeling in her legs.
Following her second flare-up, Kate had to undergo chemotherapy for her MS.
She felt like she had no one to turn to, no family or friends close by who could assist her in the darkest of times. That’s when Farm Angles came into Kate’s life, delivering a Christmas hamper and visiting Kate’s property.
“They sat with me on my verandah and listened to me. They bought the chemicals that killed the ticks off my cattle, they bought food for my kids, I can’t thank them enough. Without them over the past year, I wouldn’t be here.”
Farm Angels have since given Kate the support that has enabled the purchase of cattle immunisations, saving poddy calves and helped her get back on her feet.
Kate is an ambassador for Farm Angels’ upcoming campaign Flanno for a Farmer fundraising campaign, which calls on Australians to don their best flannelette shirt and raise money for farming families in need.
“I was very close to going under, mentally and physically and they (Farm Angels) were my team,“ she said.
“It wasn’t a machine on the end of the phone, it was a compassionate voice. Not only that, they always followed up. I’ve even had one ’Angel’ sit on my bed and have a coffee with me.
“There’s a lot of phone calls, it’s real. It’s not a feel good moment, we’ve given you this package, here’s a little bit of money, move on.
“They actually follow up and then follow up again.
“I’ve gone through another bit of a drama and it was really terrible, it was not fun, what I went through. I pulled myself through it and I didn’t need anyone.
“However, I knew Farm Angels were there and I knew they were genuine.
“They mean the world to me.“
