An anonymous donor touched by the story of a Taranaki boy who won’t eat has donated $8000 to his parents, allowing them to book the treatment they desperately sought for their son.
On May 25, Victoria and Tim Coleman will travel to Europe, with daughter Millie, 2, and son Levi, 4, to attend a specialist school which helps children dependent on tube feeding for nutrition to ditch the device, and eat again.
It’s the answer the New Plymouth couple searched around the world for in order to help Levi, who lives with Down syndrome and two rare bowel conditions, Hirschsprung’s disease and duodenal atresia.
As the latter condition took years to diagnose and ultimately fix, it meant Levi’s stomach couldn’t digest food in the meantime, leaving him in serious pain.
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As a result, at the age of three he started to refuse food. An interim solution was found in the form of a feeding tube inserted into his stomach.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Levi Coleman, 4, lives with Down syndrome, along with two rare bowel disorders, which has caused him a lot of pain during his short life. (File photo)
But getting him off the tube and able to share a meal with his family is the goal of the Colemans’ enrolment at the intensive, two-week programme at the NoTube Eat Campus in Graz, Austria, made possible by public support for their fundraising campaign.
This included the $26,830 raised via a Givealittle page, which has now been closed, as well a one-off $8000 donation made by a donor aligned with the Taranaki Foundation.
Victoria Coleman said she was “completely blown away” when she fielded a call from the Taranaki Foundation with news one of its donors wanted to make up the shortfall needed to secure the treatment.
ANDY MACDONALD/Stuff
Victoria and Tim Coleman have fought for treatment for their son, and asked for public support to raise the money they needed. (File photo)
“This meant we could breathe easy knowing we were going to make it and Levi was going to get the help he needed.”
The family were also “incredibly grateful” to the more than 500 people who had contributed to Levi’s cause, she said.
In a statement, the donor said being able to help Levi get his treatment was “extremely rewarding”.
“By doing this from time to time, I feel I have personally helped make a difference, not just to one person, it always has a flow-on effect, the donor said.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Victoria Coleman prepares her son Levi’s feeding tube, which they hope he won’t need for too much longer. (File photo)
“My parents left me some money that I use to do charitable things that they would be happy about, and that makes me happy too.”
Taranaki Foundation chief executive Josh Hickford said the organisation was “thrilled” it was able to help, and link the Coleman family with the benefactor.
A May 9 quiz night at The Good Home will mark the end of the fundraising effort for Levi.
