Celebrating the beauty of life is something Georgia Ferris excelled in. She encouraged others to do the same and included reminders in beautiful artwork she created while at Nelson Tasman Hospice.
The intricate mandalas she drew were treasures gifted to others to brighten their days.
“Georgia was all about giving back and thinking of others,” says her mum Robyn. “She was a beautiful young woman with a big heart.”
Georgia, also known as Gee, was admitted to the specialist palliative care unit at the hospice aged 27 following a 10-year battle with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a genetic disorder which, for her, caused gastrointestinal failure. As her health deteriorated, drawing proved a distraction from her illness.
When someone suggested publishing a colouring book with her artwork, the determined young woman decided to do just that, proudly gifting copyright to the hospice as a fundraiser.
Robyn and Georgia’s twin sister Liv take great comfort knowing this continues making a difference to the place she called home for the last few months of her life.
“She was no stranger to fundraising,” tells Robyn. “Georgia shaved her head to raise money for a friend with cancer and donated her hair for a wig. She was really sick, too, but always put others first.”
She also established a charity called Treasure Troves, compiling care boxes for kids in hospitals around Aotearoa.
Georgia first became unwell at 17, while still at college in Nelson.
Liv, 28, recalls her first concerns. “She’d asked how often bowel motions should be because she didn’t remember the last time she’d been,” she explains. “That led us to the GP, then she became reliant on laxatives and enemas.”
Georgia ended up with surgery and a colostomy bag, but discovering the cause of her illness took time.
After four years, a specialist identified her condition as EDS. Another later confirmed gastroparesis, a disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from your stomach to your small intestine.
Despite her struggles, the resilient young woman still had dreams of becoming a paediatric ICU nurse, marrying and having kids.
But as her body rejected food orally, and an intravenous line supplying nutrition was no longer effective, she grew increasingly frail.
“It was incredibly hard to watch,” says Liv, who was Georgia’s carer and entertainer while Robyn was at work. “Food was still a big part of her life, though, and she’d cook like there was no tomorrow because she loved to feed people.”
Adds Robyn, “She had great aspirations to eat, but she’d end up just having to pick at it.”
By mid-2020, to the family’s heartbreak, Georgia started the transition to the hospice setting, initially with home visits from nurses, then overnight admissions as her condition deteriorated.
“We were distraught and heartbroken,” shares Robyn. “She had everything to live for and wanted to live so much.”
Bravely, Georgia organised a living wake the next year, aged 24.
“It was a surreal feeling,” says Liv. “Gee turned everything into a party, though, and with food and the people she loved, it was always a good time.”
Determined to live life to the full, she’d drawn up a bucket list, cheekily spelt with an “F” rather than a “B”, a sentiment she includes sometimes in her book’s artwork.
“The list included flying in a helicopter, meeting Jacinda Ardern and singer Mitch James, going to Hawaii, skydiving and patting a zebra” says Liv, who vowed to do everything with her twin sister. “She achieved all those!”
Many involved giving to others and random acts of kindness.
As Georgia’s health worsened, family and friends ticked off items on her behalf, sharing the videos with her. She was 27 when finally admitted full-time to Nelson Tasman Hospice in August 2023.
“Her spirit and resilience never failed,” says Robyn. “She kept a sense of humour throughout and even organised a pyjama party for everyone at hospice. They all loved her.”
From here, she prepared her final days and her “sleepover party”, as she called her funeral.
“Everything was planned to the last detail because that’s what Gee was like,” shares Robyn. “She wanted a celebration, had designed her casket or ‘sleeping bag’, and called the funeral director the ‘party planner’.”
Georgia passed away on November 27, 2023, and around 400 people attended her funeral. Bright Blue Skies singer Mitch, who’d become a close friend, sang on the special day.
“It was incredible to see this tiny person had such a far-reaching effect,” Robyn says. “Her willpower and mental strength kept her alive much longer than anyone expected. She was superhuman and showed everybody that you can live while dying, with graciousness and dignity.
“A message in her book says to leave a little sparkle wherever you go – and Gee certainly did.”
To support Hospice by buying Georgia’s book, visit nelsonhospice.org.nz/product/colouring-book/.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
