Kiwi fundraising on Givealittle to get home to sick wife in Indonesia

A Kiwi man is fundraising to get home to his sick wife in Indonesia after a cancer diagnosis shook their small family.

Jon Braithwaite's scuba-diving business in Indonesia shut down early this year, leaving him without income for six months.

He decided to come back to New Zealand to find work, hoping to bring wife Dewi Braithwaite and son Felix over when he had raised enough money.

Dewi Braithwaite and son Felix are back in Indonesia. Photo / Supplied

But the 32-year-old's plans have come to a halt after his wife was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma while he was away.

His family is now fundraising on Givealittle so Braithwaite can fund transport home to his wife and child, and pay for important medical treatments.

"It's heartbreaking," he said, adding it made him emotional thinking of how he was so far away from his family while his wife dealt with the frightening news.

"Knowing that my wife is dealing with this illness and knowing that, you know, it's going to be a tough few months, yeah, it just makes me feel helpless. I can't be there to support her."

The couple are also in a race against the clock to organise an appointment at a fertility clinic in Indonesia so they can harvest some of his 24-year-old wife's eggs before she starts chemotherapy.

Dewi Braithwaite was originally told the lump in her neck was benign after having surgery to remove it. Photo / Supplied

Braithwaite has managed to book a flight home on Monday, but still faces months of uncertainty as the pair seek treatment for the disease.

The diagnosis came after his wife developed a lump on her neck. The lump was surgically removed and the couple were told it was benign.

However the lump began growing back, and further testing revealed it was actually cancerous.

The news of the results came while Braithwaite was half way through his quarantine period in Auckland.

The couple have been married for two years.

"She's the love of my life and I want to be there to support her ... every day I'm calling home to make sure that she's keeping her spirits up and she's trying to stay positive."

Since his siblings set up the Givealittle page, donations have reached nearly $13,000.

Braithwaite said the support from donors was "just incredible".

"I had no idea that there would be so many people that would be able to help."

Dewi (left) and Jon Braithwaite have been apart since before her cancer diagnosis. Photo / Supplied

He said it was "amazing" to see such a "level of care and love" from friends, family, and even strangers.