'Impossible to get home': Coldplay fan who flew 4000km from Perth to Sydney never saw band after rare illness
Kim Stevens-Miller is a big Coldplay fan, so much so that she travelled all the way from Perth to Sydney with her son to see the band in concert.
But sadly, she never made it to the gig and is still stuck 4000km from home a week later, after being hospitalised with gastro and a rare type of blood clot called mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT).
Kim – who also has stage four metastatic breast cancer – can't safely fly for three months and is left with only two options: hire a car and drive it back home or be rescued by a medical flight.
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Kim Stevens-Miller flew to Sydney to see Coldplay with her son, but never made it to the concert. Supplied
"It's proving really impossible to get home, we're on the phone to everybody, it's crazy," Kim told 9news.com.au.
"We can't book trains, because they're all booked out being this time of year. I can't fly, because I still have the blood clots.
"I can't fly commercially, but I could probably in a rescue flight because they fly at a lower altitude."
Kim's husband Bill dropped everything and flew to Sydney to be by his wife's side.
Together, they're desperately trying to piece together their perilous journey back to Perth.
Driving long distances will be tough or even fatal, as Kim needs to get up every two hours and needs to be near a hospital.
The drive between Sydney and Perth would take around 41 hours.
"We're more focussed on how we could get across the Nullabor, that's our biggest fear," Kim explained.
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Kim's husband Bill is in Sydney by her side. Supplied
"We will look into getting us to Adelaide, we have family there so I can have a bit of a rest."
"I can only drive in two hour intervals, because the blood clots in my abdomen couldn't be removed. They were at risk of breaking and causing stroke or death."
Kim's doctor in Sydney gave her injections she administers twice a day in the hope the clots dissolve.
Until then, she's stuck.
"Once we're in Adelaide, we have to work out something that's safe," she added.
"We don't even know, we've been on the phone non-stop this morning and we're not getting anywhere."
Waiting three months to fly commercially isn't an option for Kim, who wants to spend time with family as she battles her terminal diagnosis.
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Kim with her son who travelled with her to see Coldplay. Supplied
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She also has two grandchildren due to be born soon.
To add salt to the wound, Kim spent her birthday yesterday in the hospital and is mourning the fact she never saw Coldplay.
"We [wanted to] make memories and stuff there, and then it didn't happen," she said.
"I was in the hospital the day after we arrived."
The Perth woman needs help to get home to her loved ones. Supplied
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Kim and Bill have calculated the expected cost of making it from Sydney to Perth, including hiring cars, accommodation and doctor visits, and say it is in the realm of $10,000.
They can't afford the costs and a friend has launched an online fundraiser to help.
"Even if we have the money though," Kim added, "we still don't know what to do."
Kim is hoping someone can help arrange a medical rescue flight or safe transportation back home so she can be with her loved ones.
"We'd be so grateful for anything."
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