A wish come true for Cohen

$3,035 raised

From 36 Donations
TARGET $15,000

Please support this cause

AUD
$
Raising funds for: Cohen
Even if you can't Donate money which is completely understandable considering the cost of living crisis we are all living through if you or anyone you know could Donate materials for pool fencing,cementing, verandah,electrical to reduce the amount we need to fund raise that would be absolutely amazing ❤️ This is a very long story and if you read it all i thank you so much for your time. Even if you can't donate and I completely understand if you cant given the cost of living and so many people struggling to get by week to week a share is just as good . Our Son Cohen was born with 2 rare brain disorders on the 1/11/2014 , we didn't know that anything was wrong during my pregnancy with Cohen there were a few things that didn't feel quiet right and were very different to my previous 2 pregnancies but I was continually told everything was fine and I'm just over thinking things and all pregnancies are different. I went into labour and even the labour was very different to my previous 2 it was a strange burning pain rather than normal contractions and the labour was slow but I was constantly told no it's just back pain you'll be fine and so will your baby you just need a heat pack on your back. The contractions/burning pain got more intense so I had fentanyl for pain relief and I felt like i needed to get up and stand and my waters broke except it was barely a trickle it was more like a few drips that came out and it was time to push pretty quickly after that, I started pushing and the midwife said the head was crowning and i gave birth quiet quickly but there was no sound and all of the midwives/ nurses were silent and then I suddenly needed to push again and Cohen was born. Some of the nurses had quickly rushed away with what I'd first birthed and had thrown it away saying nothing to me about it from then on. I later found out by requesting my files that they said I'd birthed a sack of membranes prior to a healthy baby boy. Except that wasn't going to be the case , Cohen was born with his feet flat against his shins and the nurses brushed it off when we asked what is wrong with his feet and said oh we don't know you'll need to ask the paediatrician when he comes around. We also noticed quiet quickly that Cohen looked very different to our other 2 children and he couldn't breast feed at all so he went hungry for the first 24hrs because the nurses refused to give formula and said your baby is hungry just feed him. They then said the only way your going to get formula and a bottle is to walk down the street but nothing is open its midnight so you just need to feed him yourself , which id been trying to do for hours and hours and he just keept crying because he was so hungry. We got discharged the next day and got formula and bottles and he finally got to eat and was content, but that didn't last very long because every time we tried to give him a bottle after that there was a lot of milk running out of his mouth and he would just scream and would be inconsolable so we made many trips to the hospital and we got the usual oh its likely colic or he's just adjusting to life outside the womb ect and we got sent home. But then we noticed he had lumps in his groin that kept coming and going and every time they were visible he'd be crying in pain so we took him back and found out he had bilateral ingunial hernias and he would need surgery ,so he had the surgery and came home but he was still not feeding properly so we went back a few more times until we got one dr in emergency that noticed some of cohens features just didn't look right to her. He had positional talipes which is why his feet were flat against his shins at birth, microganathia (small jaw) , a high arched pallet which is why he couldn't feed properly, his head looked small and misshapen (Microcephaly) and he was low weight so she admitted him and inserted a naso gastric tube for feeding as he was dehydrated and starving and then all of the scans and blood tests and investigations began. Then Christmas eve came around and we asked if we could go home as we have 2 other young children and tomorrow is Christmas, so after a few hours they called us into a room and said unfortunately you can't take Cohen home and when we asked why they said because he has 2 very rare brain disorders, our world just crumbled in that moment and fear and heartbreak set in. I said ok so what are the brian disorders and why cant we take him home for Christmas now that you know what he has and the dr said the brain disorders are called Lissencephaly (smooth Brain) and microchephaly(small head) so i said well surely he's not going to pass away if we take him home for 1 day. That's when they said we'll actually we don't know if he will , these brain disorders are rare and we don't really know much about them at all. But In the end we got a crash course on feeding via a naso gastric tube and bought him home for Christmas. But on Christmas day we had to rush him back in the morning as we just couldn't get any feeds into him so our other 2 kids had to spend Christmas day with family and we spent a little longer in hospital with Cohen, we were told he will likely not make it to his 2nd birthday and if he does he wont meet any milestones and will likely be bedbound so we need to consider end of life decisions ect. From there all of the constant hospital appointments and therapy appointments began and cohen started to suffer with epilepsy and we almost lost him due to one of the medications they put him on put him into status eplepticus ( a continuous seizure) but thankfully he is a little fighter and he managed to pull through. We finally managed to get his epilepsy under control and then his spine began to curve to the left , we got many different braces for Cohen's back to try to prevent the curvature from progressing but he couldn't tolerate any of them as they'd trigger seizures. The drs kept saying oh its OK his spine is still flexible and he go's straight when you hold him up in the air so nothing was done and it slowly became severe, his pelvis has rotated and his right hip didn't develop properly either so there is a constant risk of dislocation. Cohen also had bilateral adductor release surgery to try to help with the scissoring of his legs but sadly that didn't help with the scissoring because it became a behavioural problem so We started hydrotherapy for cohen to help with the pain of scoliosis and also extremely tight calf muscles. He absolutely loved it and it helped so much but once covid hit hydrotherapy was put on hold and since then it's been to risky to take him to a public pool and he doesn't cope well leaving the comfort of his own home or being in a car seat as it causes to much pain. We have now applied for a wish from the make a wish foundation and cohen was approved for a wish and the wish journey began, his wish is to have a swim spa at home so we can do regular hydrotherapy for cohen with his physio at home where he is most comfortable. It will be a wish that will continue to give for years to come and it will make such an incredible difference to cohens life , it's a wish that is specific to Cohen. So the make a wish foundation are more than happy to grant this wish but the only thing is they will only pay for the supply and delivery of the swim spa, understandably they have many many other children to grant wishes to and a swim spa isnt cheap. So to help make Cohen's wish come true we have to pay for the rest that will come along with that such as a cement pad , a verandah so cohen has protection from the sun while using the spa, pool fencing, a heatpump and filtration system enclosure, council approval costs and an electrician. This is a massive cost and we don't know how we will come up with that sort of money in the next 12-18 months which is the timeline we have been given for cohens wish journey . I have had many people suggest I make a fund-raiser to try to raise the money needed to make cohens wish come true, but Asking for help is something I rarely ever do I'm usually the person helping everyone and I find it very difficult to ask for help even when it's really needed. But this is something we just can't do on our own and it's something that is for Cohen and not ourselves so after so many suggesting it I thought id give it a try.
Update
14 Jan 2024
Thank you to everyone who has Donated so far ? we now have ordered this Gazebo to go over the spa for Cohen rather than a verandah as its a much smaller spa that Cohen will be getting so we don't need a massive verandah over it now ?
Update
11 Jan 2024
Good morning to all of Cohens supporters, I finally have an update for you all. I received an email last night regarding cohens wish , unfortunately the make a wish foundation can't supply the original swim spa for cohen due to rules and regulations of what they are allowed to supply and also the costs of a larger swim spa,understandably as they have many deserving children to grant wishes to. What they can provide is the spa pool in the photo above, so this means we can now reduce the amount we need to fund raise to make cohens wish come true and this also now means we can move forward with preparations for his wish to be delivered ?
Update
11 Oct 2023
Hi everyone just another update ? we are still waiting to hear back from the make a wish foundation regarding where we are up to with cohens wish. But In the meantime we have had 2 $50 gift cards sent to us by stratco at Gepps Cross so we will use that to purchase lighting for under the verandah so there is light over the swim spa on the duller days or night time when we use it to help Cohen relax before bed. We also had some sqaures of grass given to us by a local Hamley bridge company so we have laid that next to where the spa will go so cohen will also have a nice grassed area to roll around on. We have also had a wonderful construction company jump on board to help us out , they are currently working out a plan to see where and how they can help Cohen's wish become a reality. We really are so blown away by everyone's generosity we could never thank you all enough for your help ?
Update
17 Sep 2023
Hi everyone firstly I just want to say thank you so very much to each and every person who has shared and donated and for all of your beautiful messages it's truly heart-warming ?? I also wanted to say you don't have to use the preset donation amounts that you see at the top, you can enter any amount you wish to donate no matter how big or small every single donation counts towards reaching cohens goal ? I also just wanted to let everyone know we have had some absolutely beautiful people offer their time free of charge to put a verandah together once we have the materials. We have also had an amazing concreter offer his time free of charge and we only have to pay for materials for that also. Last but not least we have also had a wonderful local electrician offer his time free of charge and we will only have to pay for the materials for all of the electrical work required for the spa. So once we get quotes for the materials for all of the things required to make cohens wish come true will be able to reduce the amount of money we need to fund raise ? I hope everyone has had an amazing weekend and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine we have been having and I look forward to giving some more updates very soon !!!
Update
29 Aug 2023
A bit of an update for all of you incredible people who have donated so far ? We have completed the wish capture stage which is where we chat with the amazing volunteers to decide what Cohen's wish is and why he is wishing for it. We are now at the wish design stage which is where we iron out all the fine details and the team at make a wish HQ work out how they will deliver the wish and what it will look like to make it the ultimate wish experience for cohen. The whole experience with the make a wish foundation so far has been incredible and is progressing so fast, we can't wait to see what's next ?
Update
23 Aug 2023
Just a bit of an update for everyone ? we have been incredibly moved by people's generosity and well wishes for cohen we can't thank everyone enough. We have also had an amazing couple offer their time to build the verandah for us free of charge once we can purchase it ? I can't even begin to express how thankful we are to this beautiful couple words aren't enough to express our gratitude for such kindness ??
DONATIONS36
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Jesse and Kirsten
Tue, 30 Jul 2024
$ 50
We are hoping you reach your goal mate, sending our love ❤️
We are hoping you reach your goal mate, sending our love ❤️
$ 50
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Kylie and Matt
Tue, 30 Jul 2024
$ 50
We Love you little man, still hoping we can reach this target 🙏🏼❤️❤️
We Love you little man, still hoping we can reach this target 🙏🏼❤️❤️
$ 50
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Michelle Warner
Tue, 30 Jan 2024
$ 170
Donated by tarlee hotel social club
Donated by tarlee hotel social club
$ 170
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Marissa Standley
Sun, 14 Jan 2024
$ 15
I hope Cohen can enjoy the spa soon! Wishing your family all the best
I hope Cohen can enjoy the spa soon! Wishing your family all the best
$ 15
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Shaun, Stacey King
Sun, 14 Jan 2024
$ 50
I hope you can reach your target asap guys. Can't wait to see pictures of him in his new swim spa xoxoxoxox
I hope you can reach your target asap guys. Can't wait to see pictures of him in his new swim spa xoxoxoxox
$ 50
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Maryanne Southwell
Mon, 27 Nov 2023
$ 500
I hope this helps your wish come true my beautiful grandson, I love you to the moon and back ,Love Nanna ❤️
I hope this helps your wish come true my beautiful grandson, I love you to the moon and back ,Love Nanna ❤️
$ 500
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Rob & Carolyn Mccarthy
Tue, 10 Oct 2023
$ 600
With love from uncle Rob & Aunty Carolyn ❤️
With love from uncle Rob & Aunty Carolyn ❤️
$ 600
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AIMEE PANELLA
Fri, 22 Sep 2023
$ 50
Hope your wish come true little man much love hugs and kisses ? love the Panella family xxx
Hope your wish come true little man much love hugs and kisses ? love the Panella family xxx
$ 50
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maryanne Southwell
Thu, 21 Sep 2023
$ 20
$ 20
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Shaun McCarthy
Mon, 18 Sep 2023
$ 500
This donation is from dee all the way in Florida usa
This donation is from dee all the way in Florida usa
$ 500
RAISING FUNDS FOR
Cohen
FUNDS BANKED TO:
Meagan Halwes

Campaign Creator
MHFC
Meagan Halwes for Cohen
Barabba, SA
Created Aug 2023

$3,035 raised

From 36 Donations
TARGET $15,000

Please support this cause

AUD
$
RAISING FUNDS FOR
Cohen
FUNDS BANKED TO:
Meagan Halwes
Campaign Creator
MHFC
Meagan Halwes for Cohen
Barabba, SA
Created Aug 2023