Chloe Debarge, 29, relocated to Australia in 2023 to fulfill a dying wish from her father, who had succumbed to cancer. Her journey, initially an effort to embrace life and fulfill her father's desire for her to travel, has now left her stranded in Australia with a serious medical condition.
What began as a new chapter after leaving a legal assistant career in Paris has become a crisis for Debarge, who is now attempting to raise thousands of dollars for urgent surgery. Doctors discovered a large cyst pressing dangerously close to her brain, a condition she described as a "ticking bomb in my head."
After arriving in Australia, Debarge traveled before settling in Tasmania with her partner and awaiting a visa approval. Her life took a dramatic turn in May when a persistent neck and shoulder pain, initially attributed to a muscular injury after returning to dancing, escalated to a sudden numbness on half of her body while at work. Subsequent medical evaluations, including MRIs of her neck and shoulder, failed to identify the issue.
It was Debarge herself who noticed an anomaly on her medical imaging, prompting a return to her general practitioner and leading to an urgent brain MRI. This scan revealed a significant mass within her sphenoid sinus, located behind her eyes and perilously close to her brain. Further tests confirmed it to be a large cyst that had begun to compress her optic nerve, causing a rapid deterioration of her eyesight. The cyst has also eroded the bone separating it from her brain, raising concerns about potential severe complications.
Debarge believes she may have been experiencing symptoms for years, including persistent headaches, nausea, and recurring infections, which she had previously dismissed. Doctors now suspect the cyst may have contributed to these prolonged health issues.
Her surgery, scheduled for August 7, is described as complex. Surgeons plan to remove the cyst through an approach between her nose and eye, simultaneously reconstructing damaged sinus cavity structures and addressing a deviated septum. Post-surgery recovery will require significant rest, including a week confined to bed and an additional month of limited mobility, with even car travel deemed potentially risky due to the risk of impact.
The primary obstacle for Debarge is the cost of the procedure, estimated at $25,000. Although she possesses Medicare and private health insurance, her policy has not been held long enough to cover the surgery. Attempts to secure financial assistance from various organizations, including the French Embassy, have been unsuccessful. Furthermore, doctors have advised against flying back to France due to the risks associated with pressure changes during air travel, and she no longer has health insurance in France as her life is now established in Australia.
Despite the financial and medical challenges, Debarge is receiving support from her partner, and her retired mother has returned to work in France to help with medical expenses. Debarge hopes the surgery will allow her to move forward with the life she envisioned and encourages others to seek medical attention for persistent health concerns.