[ad_1]
SUPPLIED
Baby Harrison Dunne will need to be hooked up to a ventilator for the return trip to Palmerston North from Ireland.
The family of a seriously ill New Zealand baby born in Ireland is delighted that medical services have found a way to bring him home.
Little Harrison Dunne was born in Ireland in September after his Kiwi mother Elizabeth and her husband James went there seeking help with having a baby after a series of miscarriages.
But the long-awaited grandson of Palmerston North restaurant owners Barbara and Atsushi Taniyama was born flaccid and without breathing, suffering from a genetic disorder.
You have myotubular myopathy, which means your muscles are weak and you are almost entirely dependent on a ventilator for breathing.
READ MORE:
* Palmerston North Family Seeks Help Bringing Sick Baby Home
* Heartbreak and Miracles: A Day in the Life of Auckland NICU Physician Simon Rowley
* Wheelchair and ventilator means the Christchurch man cannot be transported to hospital
WARWICK SMITH / THINGS
Barbara Taniyama talks about her family trapped in Ireland.
At first, the only option to bring him back to New Zealand seemed to be a full, specialized medical plane, at an “astronomical” cost of € 250,000, or nearly NZ $ 430,000.
Relieved Barbara Taniyama said there had been a breakthrough with the plans, thanks to the cooperation of medical services on both sides of the world, who had asked that the details be kept confidential.
The price of guaranteeing Harrison’s care while traveling had dropped to a less attractive € 70,000, just under NZ $ 100,000, but the deadline to increase the sum was just two weeks away.
SUPPLIED
Harrison will need medical attention during the long-awaited return to New Zealand from Ireland.
“We are very grateful that something has been organized. And we are very grateful that people have been so generous, “said Taniyama.
The fundraising tally on Gofundme’s crowdfunding page has reached nearly € 30,000, NZ $ 51,000, and Taniyama said some of her friends and clients had also made direct donations.
Harrison’s mother, Elizabeth Dunne, said the new plans to go home “really changed life.”
She said there was no cure for Harrison’s condition and that the family had been told not to expect the boy to have a long life.
SUPPLIED
James and Elizabeth Dunne are asking for help bringing their 2-month-old baby, Harrison, to Palmerston North from Ireland.
They longed for him to live his short life surrounded by his loving family.
“We would love for our son to feel the sand on our favorite beach, hear the native forest birds, and see his family and friends he has never met.
“We want to bring our son home to provide these things and create the happiest and most fulfilling life we can offer him.”
The couple would have to go into quarantine upon their return. Taniyama said she hoped to be at least in the same city when that time came, “so that we can greet from afar.”
Meanwhile, the Taniyamas are guarding the Aqaba restaurant in Palmerston North, which the Dunnes will manage upon their return.
Warwick Smith / Stuff
Barbara Taniyama temporarily manages Aqaba while awaiting the return of her daughter, son-in-law and baby.
