‘We’re really grateful’: community rallies behind family

But after the couple woke up to discover their three-month-old son, Ryder, not breathing, they were about to enter every parent’s worst nightmare.

In a panic, they called the ambulance and were told to start CPR.

But it was too late.

“I already knew,” Eldridge said.

“His body was cold already. I was just being hopeful; there was just a little bit of hope in me.”

The agony of losing their second son was compounded by the fact that only days earlier, the Nalzaros had lost Eldridge’s mum.

While visiting her son and his family from the Philippines, she passed away in her sleep late last month.

At the time, Eldridge was home while Nicole was spending several days in the hospital, recovering from a serious bout of staphylococcus aureus and pneumonia.

“Seeing two people who you both love just die right in front of you — I wouldn’t want to wish it on anyone,” Eldridge said, later.

“Not even my enemies.”

Still awaiting the results of an autopsy into Ryder’s death, the Nalzaros have had to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing what took their son’s life, further compounding their grief.

Fallen through the cracks

Thousands of kilometres from their family and closest friends in the Philippines, Eldridge and Nicole arrived in the country with their seven-year-old son, Racer, only two years ago.

They’ve lived in Australia ever since, getting by on working visas.

Their precarious status means that, in their time of greatest need, the Nalzaros have slipped through the cracks.

Unlike permanent residents or Australian citizens who hold Medicare cards, Eldridge and Nicole only have access to limited, if any, government support.

Together with four weeks of antibiotics for Nicole, the Nalzaros have had to find money to cover funerals for both their son and Eldridge’s mum, alongside the cost of an ambulance transport for Eldridge’s mum.

“When we first applied for her visa back home, I didn’t know that we were supposed to get the insurance here,” Eldridge said.

“We tried to get it from the Philippines, but when they found out about her age, she was already disqualified because most insurance companies in the Philippines only accept up to 60 years old.

“Mum was 70 at that time.”

Meanwhile, since her illness and his mother’s death, Nicole and Eldridge have both taken time off work.

Community steps up

But where they’ve fallen through the cracks of the government’s safety net, the Nalzaros’ friends and family, alongside the tight-knit Filipino and broader Cobram-Barooga communities, have stepped up.

“We have received so much support from the community,” Eldridge said.

After Eldridge’s mum and, later, son passed away, a close family friend started a GoFundMe to raise money for the Nalzaros.

As word of the Nalzaros’ hardship spread online and through word of mouth, donations poured in, as family, friends and strangers alike banded together.

At last count, the fund had raised over $15,000.

While Eldridge and Nicole know they will never fill the hole of their tragic losses, the support has gone a long way towards making ends meet.

“I didn’t expect it to gather as many funds as it would because nobody knows us here. We’re practically new to the community,” Eldridge said.

So far, they’ve used the funds to pay for a funeral director for Eldridge’s mum.

They’re still waiting on invoices from Ambulance Victoria to arrive.

“I saw some donations come in from friends, but as days passed, I saw some people who we didn’t even know give their time and money to help us,” Eldridge said.

Random strangers have reached out through social media, offering to clean their house or wash their clothes.

“So that’s when we started to feel a little overwhelmed because we were getting support from people who we don’t even know,” Eldridge said.

Although the pain of their loss is still raw, Eldridge and Nicole can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

More than anything, they’re deeply grateful for the support they’ve received from the community over recent weeks.

“We’re really grateful for it already,” Eldridge said.

The GoFundMe for the Nalzaro family remains open, and can be found through the link at tinyurl.com/3j2736vv