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A Palmerston North couple’s dream homecoming with their long-awaited baby has turned into an expensive logistical nightmare.
Elizabeth and James Dunne’s youngest son, Harrison, was born in Ireland in September, did not breathe or move, and suffered from a rare genetic disorder.
You will need specialized medical care and constant intubation to hold your breath on the way back to New Zealand.
Their situation is heartbreaking for Elizabeth’s parents, Yatai Japanese restaurant owners Izakaya Barbara and Atsushi Taniyama.
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Warwick Smith / Stuff
Barbara Taniyama temporarily manages Palmerston North’s Aqaba Bar for her daughter and husband while they are trapped in Ireland with a seriously ill baby.
The Dunnes have bought the distinctive Aqaba restaurant on Broadway and the Taniyamas have been “babysitters” for the business until the family’s return, which they expected to be in late November.
Everything was lined up: the business, a house, an electric van, and although they were already grandparents to five others, this must be the first time the Taniyamas had a grandson living in the same city.
Barbara Taniyama said she was looking forward to having a grandson to help care for and play after what had been a long four-year struggle for the Dunnes to start a family.
There were four miscarriages and one molar pregnancy, where a nonviable fertilized egg implants and develops into a mass that must be removed.
The couple went to Ireland, where James Dunne’s parents live, looking for doctors to help women with a history of miscarriage carry a baby to term.
“Our dream of having this little baby finally came true, but now it has turned into a nightmare. It’s just heartbreaking, ”said Barbara Taniyama.
Harrison’s mom explained that when he was born, he was flaccid and not breathing.
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Baby Harrison Dunne will need to be hooked up to a ventilator for the return trip to Palmerston North from Ireland.
During the pregnancy there was no indication that anything was wrong.
Later, her condition was diagnosed as myotubular myopathy, giving her limited use of her muscles, including the muscles she needs to breathe.
The prognosis is that you could live only a couple of years before something fails your lungs.
With Ireland entering winter, his parents were eager to bring him home for the summer to New Zealand.
His distraught grandmother said the photos and video links showed a young boy who was alert and looking around, and with a brain that was obviously responsive to voices and touch.
But for the trip home, he would need to be surrounded by medical equipment, a ventilator, and specialized medical care.
The family was still exploring options about a full air ambulance, or whether it would be possible to have an area of a regular airplane set up like a hospital room.
They had contacted the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland about how to handle the quarantine when the family returned to New Zealand.
The costs would be “horrendous,” said Barbara Taniyama.
They are asking their friends and clients if they can help, and a Gofundme page has been created with the goal of raising 250,000 euros, almost 430,000 dollars.
So far about € 15,000 has been raised, which is almost $ 26,000.
