Laszlo's fundraising - important message
2 July 2015
Dear friends and family,
We are so very grateful for the generosity you showed our family during our recent troubles in Fiji. It was wonderful to have so much support in the face of such bad luck, and we really can't thank you enough.
Not long before we left Fiji the situation with our insurers changed – and they decided that they would accept our claim. This is great, but has caused us to carefully consider what we should do about all the money that you have given so generously.
Our policy didn’t cover us for ‘pre-existing medical conditions’, so we had low expectations when we contacted the insurance company. Laszlo has had seizures as a baby, and we were expecting the insurers to simply point to that and rule out cover. We didn’t hear back from them for four days after the seizure, and when we did hear from them there was a lot of doubt expressed about whether they could help us, so we got on with making our own arrangements to get home with a medical escort. Meanwhile Dr Misimisi (our Paediatrician in Fiji) communicated back and forth with the insurers. He eventually convinced them that they couldn’t rule out the possibility that a viral infection had caused the seizure. On that basis they agreed that they had to cover this event. They then took over arrangements to get us home.
Our first thought was that since the major costs (e.g. medical escort) were covered, we should decline all the donations. There are still some costs we can’t recoup (e.g. a lost week of Peter’s salary, expenses for which we have no proof etc), but clearly the amount raised is well in excess of the direct costs of getting us home. We’re conscious that each of you will have donated for different reasons, and we don’t want to risk throwing anyone’s generosity back at them, but we also respect that some of you may feel that the situation is materially different, and we’d be very happy to return your donations. We’ve sought advice from some of you individually, and while several have expressed that they do not want their donation returned, we don’t want the thinking of a few to in anyway narrow the choices for everyone else.
We've been thinking about a solution that gives everybody an individual and anonymous choice. If you do want to request a refund you can email the Givealittle helpdesk at helpdesk@givealittle.co.nz Please just specify the donation you want refunded (include your name, email address and the page name 'Give Laszlo's parents a breather'). If you want to request a refund please email the help desk by Wednesday the 8th of July 2015, 5pm.
If there is any money remaining above our additional costs we would like to:
· Make a donation to Nadi Hospital where Laszlo was treated. They are doing good work with very limited resources and it was obvious they could use some help.
· Set up a fund for Laszlo to either cover emergency medical expenses in the future or to help cover the costs of more comprehensive insurance if we can get it.
· Consider taking Laszlo on a small holiday, this time much closer to home and hospital care
It was rotten luck to have this happen while we were out of the country, and we don't want to let one bad experience stop us from future adventures. Prior to Laszlo's fracture and seizure he was really enjoying simple pleasures like playing on the beach with other children ("the baby love it here"). We feel really fortunate that all his medical team are supporting us to come up with some plans and strategies to ensure that he gets as much of this fun as possible.
Thanks again to all of you for supporting us.
Peter and Julia.
