Help Mia grow, literally

Hi! Our names are Abby and Dallas and we are the proud parents of our beautiful Mia.

We have created this Go Fund Me to raise funds to help Mia receive growth hormones (somatrogon is the GH name). Growth hormone is naturally produced by the pituitary gland and is necessary to stimulate growth in children. Unfortunately Mia is not producing enough natural growth hormone and at the age of almost 4 (April 16th) she is the size of a 2 year old.

Mia was born prematurely at 27 weeks at 1.7kg and spent the first 8 months of her life in the NICU. After multiple surgeries starting from 1 week old until the age of 2 life has been anything but ‘normal’ for Mia. Mia has a long list of medical issues and yet despite all of her diagnosis’s she is happy, kind, intelligent and strong.

After extensive testing every few months including blood tests, X-rays, glucose stimulation tests and anything else the medical team throw at us we have received news that Mia is growing 5mm or 0.5cm too tall in a 12 month period to qualify for growth hormones through the government. A secondary test that has been done for Mia to qualify has also left her out of the 1% mark to qualify. A bone X-ray of Mia shows that her bone age is that of a 2 year old female. This has left us back and forth with specialists trying to find a way to get Mia the GH she requires to grow and the only way this is now possible is to fund it privately.

Mia is smart and is aware of her height difference to other children her age and as parents we are constantly having conversations with her when she brings up ‘I’m so small like a baby’ or ‘why I am the same size as the little kids and not big like others’. While we constantly remind her that everybody comes in different shape and sizes and while Mia has a great support system of educators at Childcare/Kinder who do a fantastic job of teaching children that everybody is different and it doesn’t make us any less special it’s still a topic of conversation that is brought up daily which leaves Mia sad and asking more questions about ‘when will I get bigger’.

Unfortunately without GH starting soon Mia will continue to grow at a very slow rate and we fear this will have lasting impacts on her. Mia has specialised equipment at Childcare that allows her to use children sized toilets, specialised tables and chairs that allow her to sit, play and eat as her feet don’t reach the ground without a lower tailored table and chair along with steps that allow her to wash her hands at the sink like other children her age can because despite her small stature she wants to be able to do things every other kid can do (and for those of you who know Mia know that she will always find a way).

We’ve been left sad and disappointed that Mia has missed out being funded by such a small scale despite previous to these last 12 months Mia was growing 3-4cm less then other children her age this is still not taken into consideration. Without finding private treatment we have been told there will be a review in 12 months time to check if she meets the criteria then - so at this stage Mia is 2 years behind in her growth and waiting another 12 months puts her 3 years behind in growth - and that’s if she makes the cut off in 12 months time. If she doesn’t it’s another 12 month review meaning the longer time goes on and she doesn’t qualify the further behind she will be. As parents wanting the best for Mia and along with recommendations from specialists along with second opinions our only option at this point is to raise funds to start the treatment.

If we are able to start GH and it is proven to work over the next 12 months we have a greater possibility of being funded through the government but without this Mia is left to wait.

As you can see in the photos uploaded our beautiful friend Harper who is 8 months older than Mia there is a significant height difference which shows one example of Mias height.

Our fundraiser goal is not necessarily the final cost of all the treatment this is a best case scenario.

We appreciate you all taking the time to read the Go Fund Me and hopefully we are able to get Mia growing very soon!