'We've WON!' : People power prevails in desperate mum's fight to keep her son's foot from being amputated after financial help was rejected

• People power helps desperate Adelaide mum, Kate Turner, fight to keep her son's foot  
• Joshua Turner, 8, has a rare disease which cuts off blood supply to his foot
• Petition on change.org gathered more than 93,000 signatures urging the SA government to review the 8 year olds case
• A decision denying Joshua financial support from the patient travel scheme has been overturned by health minister Jack Snelling
• Adelaide doctors told the Turner family there was nothing they could do for Joshua
• A Melbourne specialist is willing to help the Turners' but they will have to travel interstate for treatment  
• Joshua will receive another operation in Melbourne before christmas 

By Amy Ziniak for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 23:29 EST, 30 September 2014 | Updated: 04:52 EST, 1 October 2014

People power has come to the rescue of a desperate mother, who launched a social media campaign, in the fight to keep her son's foot from being amputated, after help was rejected.

eight year old Joshua Turner has a rare disease AVM, called Arteriovenous Malformation which causes problems with blood flow in his foot

Eight year old Joshua Turner from Morphett Vale, in Adelaide's southern suburbs, suffers from a rare disease called Arteriovenous malformation, an abnormal connections between arteries and veins in his foot which causes significant blood flow problems.

When doctors in Adelaide said they couldn't do anything for the youngster, the Turner family were forced to travel to Melbourne to see a specialist to seek treatment.

The only problem was the financial constraints for the family, who pleaded with the South Australian government to review his case after they were denied financial support

Within days of a petition being launched, on Change.org, thousands of signatures were received from supporters, forcing the government to buckle under the pressure.

A review of Joshua's case was commissioned by SA health minister, jack Snelling and the decision to deny him funding from the patient travel scheme was finally overturned.

The family will receive funding for two airfares and partial accommodation costs under the scheme.

'We've won!' said a post on the change.org website.

'The health minister has now stepped in to reverse the decision to deny help,' wrote mum Kate.

'They're going to cover airfares and costs to get my son to the specialist doctors. It means Joshua will be able to get the treatment for his foot, it's such a huge relief,' she said. 

A desperate mother has launched a social media campaign, in the fight to keep her son's foot from being amputated, after help was rejected. Joshua (pictured) after one of his operations he now needs another one to treated his foot 

Joshua's foot : The eight year old had a number of operations after being diagnosed with rare disease AVM but then it came back and he now needs another surgery to make sure his foot won't get amputated

'Joshua has the biggest grin on his face knowing he might now be able to beat this disease and keep kicking a foot around which he loves.' 

While its a huge relief for the family and has been declared a victory, Ms Turner says it won't cover the cost of all trips to Melbourne while Joshua is being treated and requires check ups.

'It's a drop in the ocean. We need to find another two airfares, we get $60 accommodation a night and have to find the difference,' she said.

'There's still added costs such as parking and car hire.'

The mum of two said she would love it for the scheme to be altered to offer families more funding to stay together when they need to travel for a sick child.

'I would love it if they would review it for families to stay together but I don't know whether that's an idealistic view.'

'psychologically, with a child interstate is heart tearing, I don't think anyone should be put in that situation, I don't want to be in SA while Josh is in surgery, its scarey and things could go wrong,' she said.

'I would love for it to change but don't know whether it's possible.'

A statement from SA Health said, 'we have spoken with Mrs Turner and have confirmed SA Health will cover all retrospective and future travel costs, and contribute to the accommodation costs, associated with Joshua’s treatment in Melbourne.' 

Ms Turners says she is overwhelmed by all the support and the petition has far outweighed her expectations.

'Lots of people have contacted me in same situation, they want their families to stay together, but I don't think it(the scheme) will change, there's still parts of our trips we have to self fund,' she said.

'It (petition) clearly struck a cord with some people.'

'It was people power most definitely, getting politicians to do what they're employed to do.' 

'That's their job and if they can't be held accountable they shouldn't be there.' 

Posting an update on Change.org, she also said thankyou on behalf of Joshua and said the support had 'blown her away' but more importantly had changed her son's life. 

Joshua is set to travel to Melbourne sometime before christmas to have yet another operation to hopefully treat his condition so it won't return. 

The story of Joshua's illness started two years ago, after his fifth birthday, when his mum said he started to limp and complained of pain in his foot.

Dad Mike Turner (left), sister Jenna (middle left), Joshua (middle right) and mum Kate Turner (right) The Turners' are fighting to get financial assistance for Joshua to have treatment on his foot

'I thought he had a broken bone.' she said. 'He was complaining of pain so he had an ultrasound, we knew something was wrong.'

But when he had that ultrasound, it was found that he had a vascular malformation in his foot and was told he needed specialist treatment. 

'He was referred to orthopedics SA, privately, they had no clue so they sent him to the women's and children's hospital,' said Ms Turner.

'Joshua had his first treatment in May, 2012, his first embolisation which went through the artery in the groin to the base of his foot.'

'They put an agent like glue in his foot to attempt to block up abnormal vessels but that was unsuccessful. They tried two more times and on the third attempt his toes went black.' 

Joshua contracted tissue nerosis but thankfully it was treated and repaired.

'The blackness pealed away and fell off and new skin grew,' she said, 'there was thought of amputation but his skin recovered, it was quite scarey.'

In May 2013 they went to see doctors again to see if he could continue to be treated, but were told by they couldn't risk any more surgeries and if something had gone wrong, he would risk amputation.

'They said come back in 12 months, we will manage the pain.'

Ms Turner said she was gobsmacked by their dismissal of his case and felt totally unsatisfied with the outcome, so she decided to do her own research and came across a radiologist in Melbourne she thought might be able to help. 

'He was optimistic he could help,' she said.

In September, Joshua was able to be seen by Melbourne doctor Anthony Pennington while he was at a vascular clinic and asked the family to hang around so other doctors could review his disease.

'We had an appointment with 12 doctors, all keen to have a look and they came to the conclusion that surgery was the best option and the best chance for him to save further nerve damage to his foot.' 

Footy Fan : Joshua recently got AFL tickets to go see the Hawks play Port Adelaide, a present to keep him upbeat (left) effects of AVM (right)

'He calls it his shark bite,' said mum Kate Turner (right) of Joshua's foot. Her son, 8, will need more surgery to treat his AVM and is asking the government to change it's decision for financial funding

The next month, a surgery was set up for Joshua, but three days beforehand the family hit a brick wall, when their health fund, Medibank private, refused to coff up to cover the surgery.

'They said it was a plastic surgery procedure,' said Ms Turner, 'I told them where to go and then we had to pay for Joshua's surgery which cost close to $5000.'

'He spent four weeks off school, six weeks in a backslab, ten weeks in crutches before he fully recovered and was walking again,' she said.

'He missed out on hell of a lot of school in the last two years, he stopped playing basketball, he had to modify activities, he loves kicking a footy but it is really difficult.'

'He can't put pressure on the ball of his foot, simple act of walking for a day is difficult. It's heartbreaking to watch.'

'He calls it his shark bite.' 

Due to his surgery, Joshua was required to have a follow up scan in Melbourne where his parents Kate and Mike were told the good news, the AVM was gone.

All he needed was a follow up review in a years time. 

But the bad luck continued and his parents worse fears returned when they noticed Joshua developed similar systems in his foot in June, including limping again. 

The eight year old now needs again, to travel to Melbourne for surgery and will require three month follow up's to ensure his foot gets better.

When the Turner's first discovered Joshua had a problem they took him to a GP and he was eventually referred to the Women's and Children's hospital in Adelaide (pictured)

Joshua Turner, 8, (left) still need further treatment on his foot and must travel to Melbourne to see specialists. Mum Kate Turner (pictured right) has started an online petition to ask the government for financial assistance

But for the family, it's set to be a major financial struggle that will require thousands of dollars more for travel, accommodation, the surgery itself and the follow ups, because it can't be done in Adelaide. 

The SA Government, at first, rejected the Turner's access to the patient travel scheme, which means they won't be able to get a cent.

'I was totally shocked when they told me why. They're saying travelling to Melbourne for the only treatment that could save my son's foot is "seeking a second opinion, said Ms Turner.

SA health minister Jack Snelling (pictured) has said on ABC radio on Monday he will review Joshua's case and is confident the government will be able to help 

'It means they won't allow us into the patient transport access scheme, the only way we're going to be able to afford to get him to the hospital treatment every three months.'

'I just can't understand it. Amputating my eight year old son's foot is unacceptable to us.'

'It's a last resort. Specialists are saying they can save it, just the doctors in Adelaide don't offer the treatment.'

'It's as if they see saving my son's foot is a luxury,' she said. 

Ms Turner estimated the family had already spent about $10,000 on airfares, accommodations and surgery to fix Joshua's foot. 

She believes the costs to follow will be around $2500 to $3000 if not more, and could be ongoing if they have to continue to see a specialist in Melbourne. 

Desperate, she had no other options so decided to take her fight to social media and within a week had received 60,000 signatures for an online petition. 

'Blown my mind how many people have signed and others struggling with similar circumstances,' she said.

Joshua's foot pre-op, The eight year old has had to endure a number of surgeries because of his AVM

On Change.org they also included a letter written to SA premier Jay Weatherill pleading with him to reverse the government's decision for access to the scheme. 

While at first there wasn't much positives from the SA government on her case, Ms Turner received communication from SA health minister Jack Snelling on Monday morning.

In a verbal agreement he said the government would review her case and possibly allow access to the patient travel scheme.

'I was a little reluctant because it was a verbal agreement, so I won't let it go until I get it in writing,' she said. 

The minister spoke on ABC's talk back radio and said he hopes it can all be resolved.

'I am very, very confident we’ll be able to ensure that she’s able to access PATS to travel to Melbourne to make sure her son gets appropriate treatment,' Mr Snelling said.

'It would seem … that Ms Turner’s son would be eligible for PATS, if not I’ll make sure that they are,' he told the ABC.

'I’ll make sure that this gets fixed. I’ll contact Ms Turner today and make sure that this gets fixed,' he said.

'It's not only a financial burden on both my husband and I, I also work casually so to take the time off it's hard, I have to pay the household bills,' said Ms Turner.

'We want it fixed yesterday and if I could have his foot for him to have less pain, I would.'

'It's frustration over the whole process, the system and how it works and they need to look at individual basis more on people.'

'Really quite exciting so many people have got behind us but it has taken for me to go to social media, so bit sad.' 

A gofundme site has also been set up for people to make donations for Joshua's treatment, which has already raised over eighteen hundred dollars.