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Help For Baby Aida

Hi everyone. I’m Marile van Zyl. Many of you may know me as your friendly neighbourhood GP here in Fort St James, currently on maternity leave. But I am first and foremost a mother of 2 beautiful kids and I am also a friend. That is why I am starting a Go Fund Me Page for my friends Jana Gainor and Cody Willick to help raise money for their wee little girl Aida Willick. Aida was born with a condition called sagittal craniosynostosis. It is a very big word for such a small little girl! This is the most common type of premature suture fusion, affecting approximately 1 in every 5000 births. Sagittal synostosis is the premature closure of the sagittal suture of the skull. It means that the suture running down the middle of her skull has stayed closed instead of being open. This means that her brain does not have a whole lot of space to grow in and if it is not fixed, she could suffer brain damage in the long run. It has also lead to her having a longer shaped head. Aida is scheduled for necessary corrective neurosurgery at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver on Sept 17, 2018. They will stay in Vancouver until Sept 25 at Ronald McDonald House. The surgery is called an endoscopic suturectomy. It is not very invasive, but very scary when you are a parent. After the surgery, Aida will be fit with a helmet to help maintain the head shape. This will give her a nice, round shaped head! This is by far the most important step in the process. The helmet costs $2850 and this is not covered! This helmet needs to stay on for approximately 6-8 months or even longer if needed. Jana and Aida have to return to Vancouver very regularly in the 6-8 months post surgery to check on the helmet fit and to adjust the helmet as her skull grows. At first it will be 2 weeks after surgery and then weekly for 4-6 weeks until the helmet fits properly and then every two weeks for a month and then every 3 weeks until finished! There is no one in Prince George trained to do this fitting! This will be approximately 12 trips at least. Jana and Aida will have to fly as it just takes too much out of Aida post surgery to travel by vehicle every time. The average cost of a return plane ticket is around $380. As you can see: this gets expensive, quickly! Here’s the thing. Despite the fact that this is quite a common condition, there is NO FUNDING for the helmet or for parents who don’t live near BC Children’s. Her surgery is covered and that’s it! Thank goodness for organizations like Ronald McDonald house! Jana and Cody currently live off of his salary and Jana is on mat leave. She can’t stay in Vancouver for the duration of this time as she has two other older children at home. We need your help to raise funds to help get Aida her helmet and to help Jana and Aida travel at least 12 times to Vancouver and back.There is no precise number here, but their cost will run anywhere between $8000 and $10,000 . How can you help? Any way you can, big and small! If you have air miles you can donate, great! If you have some money you can donate, wonderful! Drop off a home cooked meal at her house to help out when she’s tire from travelling! And wave to little Aida when you see her in town with her cute little helmet on! Thank you so much for reading this. A parent’s only wish in life is to keep their children safe and happy. It is a very stressful thing for them to go through and all our community’s help will be greatly appreciated.
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Donations 

  • michelle pierre
    • $50 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Marile van Zyl
Organizer
Fort St. James, BC
Jana Gainor
Beneficiary

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