Help Adeline Fight Cerebral Palsy

Fundraiser for Adeline to access more Stem Cell Therapy and continue her fight with Cerebral Palsy.

Adeline was born on 9 January 2021, during the birth experience Adeline suffered a brain injury due to a lack of oxygen; resulting in Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) and as a result Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy.

Adeline spent the first 14 days of her life in hospital in critical condition. It took 5 days for Lauren and Luke to finally hold their child. They knew that the road ahead would be hard for them, however they couldn’t predict just how hard daily life would be.

On 22 July 2021, 6 months after Adeline was born, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy- Quadriplegia. This means that her entire body is affected and that Adeline struggles to control her head and trunk, legs, and arms. She is developmentally delayed and has since required a PEG which assists her to be tube-fed daily, she is also visually impaired having recently been diagnosed with Cortical Visual Impairment. She is in regular pain, is unable to control her movements and is often screaming or distressed requiring continual redirection, distraction and of course love and care.

Adeline has daily struggles and is significantly behind others her age both physically and cognitively. She has significant difficulties with regulation, sleep is extremely impacted, and she requires one on one support 24 hours a day. This support is provided by Lauren as Adeline’s full-time carer, and the family has found it extremely difficult to find respite options due to Adeline’s high support needs. She is physically carried or held over 90% of the day as she is unable to support herself in sitting positions, even with modified equipment. She requires support in all aspects of her life and regular medical intervention to manage her pain, and due to her communication barriers, meeting her basic daily needs results in some very difficult days.

Lauren and Luke are making every effort to obtain the best therapies to improve Adeline’s quality of life. In one week alone, she participates in 6 to 8 therapies including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech feeding, Speech communication and a Dietician. Annual therapies and equipment for Adeline’s needs are more than $130k, some of which are funded by the NDIS and some that aren’t.

On top of completing daily treatment and therapies, Adeline has completed 4 rounds of Stem Cell infusions at the Better Being Hospital Bangkok in June/July 2023 following a successful fundraiser in March 2023. This kind of treatment has been shown to improve Vision, head and trunk control, fine motor skills and cognition for kids with Cerebral Palsy. The medical costs for this treatment are more than $50,000.

Since returning from treatment, Adeline has amazingly said her first word, ‘more’, and on a few occasions she has been able to sign the words, ‘go’ and ‘more’. These improvements are beyond what her parents could have dreamed of. Cognitively there has also been notable improvements along with better head control and she is more visually aware, able to now meet the gaze of her parents and loved ones, and access communication devices with her eyes. These changes to Adeline’s movements have given significant hope and drive to her parents.

It is recommended that Adeline receives Stem Cells every 6 months in these early years of her life to harness the full potential of the cells whilst her brain is developing and creating new pathways.

This fundraiser aims to raise a substantial amount of money to cover the cost of vital stem cell treatment that Adeline requires to promote brain cell rejuvenation.

By completing this treatment, it is hoped that Adeline will experience improvements in her vision, cognition, and overall strength to help her meet milestones that she is yet able to do. Any improvements this treatment can provide a child with Cerebral Palsy and a diagnosis such as Adeline’s has the potential to change her whole world experience. Every child deserves to be provided with every opportunity in life.

Please help us give this gift to Adeline.