Hi everyone,

Our names are Simon and Jena and we’re reaching out for help during a difficult time of our lives. Our baby boy Maverick was recently diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) a very rare and life-threatening condition that leaves him without a functioning immune system. Essentially, his body can’t fight off infections the way most babies can, and even something as simple as a cold could be dangerous and even life threatening for him. In order to correct this, Maverick will need a bone marrow transplant and a little chemo, as well as some other medication.

Since getting the diagnosis, our lives have changed a lot. Our days are now filled with hospital visits, tests, doctor calls and consultations, as well as constant monitoring. We are doing our best to protect him from germs and are having to isolate our family so we don’t catch any possible sickness. We were told to refrain from having visitors or being out in public spaces like Church or shopping centres to limit any potential contact with sick people or a potential virus. We’ll have to continue isolating leading up to his treatment and up to several months afterwords possibly up till he is around 1 year old is what we are told. We are praying that it will not take that long.

Because of the state of Maverick’s immune system, Simon has had to stop working and go on EI to make sure he doesn’t get himself sick or unknowingly bring something home that may not harm a healthy system but could be very harmful for Maverick. Unfortunately, this is not enough to cover our monthly bills, groceries, and the many extra expenses that have come up because of his condition. I stay at home to watch our kids so we only had one income and now less than that since Simon is unable to attend work and has been helping at home and bringing us to doctors appointments.

Even though much of the medical care is covered, there are still a lot of out of pocket costs that add up quickly, things like:

We’re doing everything we can to stay positive, but the financial pressure is soon to become overwhelming. We want to focus all of our energy on his health and recovery, not on how we’ll keep the lights on or pay for parking at the hospital. This amount will help cover our essential bills and the additional medical-related costs we’ll face as we support our son through his treatment and recovery. We’re determined to give Maverick the best chance possible. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference.

We know not everyone can give financially, and that's okay your prayers, encouragement, and simply sharing our story mean just as much.

Prayer request: Continued health, for us all, a successful transplant (that his body accepts it without issues) , wisdom for the doctors, miraculous recovery, and full restoration of his immune system.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting our family during this difficult journey. Your kindness and generosity mean more than words can express.

With love and gratitude,

Jena, Simon, Zarah and Maverick