Help Shaé, 14 this year, to access her urgent spine surgery.

on 8 Aug 2023

Tim asks

Hi Sonia, VBT surgery is offered in New Zealand with the exact same implant as will be used in France. Why is Shaé needing to raise funds when my understanding is that she can receive it here for free?

Sonia

Hi Tim,

Here is the answer from Stef, Shaé's mum.

" Thank you for your interest in Shaé's health. We were as surprised as you are when, in March, no surgeon would offer us anything but fusion for our teenage daughter. We had to research ourselves and found out about VBT. Then the next appointment was going to be in August and we had to act quickly since the curve got so much worse so quickly. This decision is supported by the second specialist we saw.

We were lucky to find a spot in this specialised hospital in France and because we also have family there, we would avoid other significant costs.

Shaé needs urgent attention if she is to resume a normal life and this was not possible in the NZ health system. Flying to France to get this done is difficult for us ( we'll put our job on hold for that )but we do what we have to do for our daughter's wellbeing.

Again, thank you for your concern. "

on 11 Jul 2023

Karen asks

Hello just wondering why this can't be done in Dunedin? We have just had my daughter's done (she is 18 years old). All the best

Sonia

Hi Karen.

Shaé got the chance to still be young enough ( she still have few more years to grow more) to have a VBT surgery.

They won't fuse all her spine but will fix a cable so she will still be able to gain some height.

You can have a look at her FB page if you want

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094114437712

Stef, Shaé's mum