About this project

“Marsel was born at 30 weeks of gestation after spontaneous onset of labour. Unfortunately, there was a long delay before medical help was received and the labour could no longer be postponed. Marsel was born tiny, weighing just 1370 g and 40 cm in height. He was whisked away into the ICU before I could hear him crying, but I do recall the doctor saying “he’s alive”. Marsel spent over a month in the ICU requiring external oxygen to breath. On the morning of my birthday, I have received a phone call from one of the doctors. I was terrified to pick up the phone, not knowing what to anticipate as the medical staff have never contacted me like this before. However, the news that I have received was wonderful- my son was now in a stable condition and could breath independently. After coming home from the hospital, we had regular medical visits. The doctors initially attributed all developmental delays to Marsel’s prematurity. However, at the age of 8 months, Marsel was still far behind other children his age- he could not hold his head or turn onto his tummy. At two years of age, he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy- spastic diplegia with a central nervous system disorder. Marsel is currently able to slide down from a couch, stand while holding onto something and walk with support. He is yet to master independent sitting but can remain seated with his legs crossed. Marsel can stand on all fours but crawling is too difficult. He is beginning to use his hands which were previously so tight, that you could not even insert a toy into his fist.” To support Marsel’s further development, he requires ongoing therapy. His mother is doing all she can to help her son, taking him to therapeutic massage, swimming, osteopathy, neurology and acupuncture. All of these treatments are costly. The mother is currently searching for funding to attend intensive rehabilitation at the Olinek clinic in Poland, which specialises in the treatment of children with Cerebral Palsy.

The Little Cloud Foundation is eager to help the family and our goal is to raise AUD 4,900. To support Marsel, please make a donation with a reference MARSEL.