Leah Makanda, who grew up in Newcastle and Maitland, has been helping the poor for years.

Now she needs help.

Family friend Rod Marshdale has started a GoFundMe to help bring Leah home for treatment.

"She is in real strife," Rod said.

"I'm hoping the Newcastle community and Aussie public get behind her to save her life and hopefully give her a future."

Leah's dad Colin Robinson - a former Salvation Army chaplain - supported Rod while he faced death, before receiving a double lung transplant in 2015.

Leah, 38, has lived in Uganda for about nine years.

She lives with Addison's disease, which led her to suffer a life-threatening adrenal crisis.

She had been under increased stress while grieving the death of a single mother of six and helping the children.

After she experienced severe chest pain, husband Rob - a doctor - had to resuscitate her. He saved her life.

Doctors confirmed she had sepsis as well as malaria and suffered a pulmonary embolism. She had to be revived twice in hospital.

She then developed extreme pain in her body and lost all movement in her limbs, leaving her paralysed.

"She can move her fingers and wrist. She's been able to lift one hand off the bed five times, but it's really painful doing that," Colin said.

"The fact she can move her hands gives her hope she won't be paralysed for the rest of her life."

It's thought that Leah will recover, but she will have to learn to move her muscles again.

Her specialists want her to return to Australia for treatment, after she is stable and has more mobility in her limbs for the long flight.

Doctors and physios are providing her with basic care in Uganda.

Leah's mum, Pamela, flew to Uganda to support her.

Pamela gives her regular massage, while Rob does physiotherapy sessions to keep her moving.

Colin said there were logistics to work out before bringing Leah home, such as whether her children and husband would come with her.

"It hasn't been easy on the family. Not knowing is the hard part," he said.

"We do a lot of praying together, but it does stretch your faith."

From Uganda, Rob said they were "taking it one day at a time and believing for a miracle".

"For that, we are greatly encouraged."

The couple felt "humbled by the prayers and support from everyone".

Leah's first trip to Uganda was at age 17 to visit orphanages.

She was working for the Salvation Army, checking that money given to sponsor children was being used correctly.

It was there that she met future husband Rob, who was an orphan after his mum died giving birth to her seventh child.

His dad also died two months later and the siblings were split between orphanages and family.

Leah and Rob later married and had three sons - Hezekiah, Adlai and Ezrael. They adopted a fourth child from an orphanage, a girl named Gift, who is now a teenager.

"She was actually found on a tip. She was very malnourished," said Colin, now a retired Salvation Army officer.

Rob became a doctor after his mum's death inspired him to help save lives.

He and Leah established The Mbuyu Foundation, which runs literacy, food and sports programs - along with life and business skills - in Katanga slum in Uganda.

The programs aim to help people lift themselves out of poverty.

They also focus on maternal health, aiming to prevent mothers dying in childbirth.

The couple dream of buying and building a school for the many children attending their programs.

Rob said the team at Mbuyu were making Leah proud, as they "continued our work in the slums".

The GoFundMe is titled: "Help bring Leah back from Uganda for critical care".