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Please help Caiden and his family

$51,212 donated
Given by 1292 generous donors in around 9 months

Support for Jasmine and Karl as they embark on this uncertain road ahead.

Henderson, Auckland

On Monday 14th November, the MacGibbon families world got turned upside down with a devastating diagnosis - that their son Caiden has a brain stem tumour that can’t be surgically removed.

A month ago he was a typical 5 year old boy - happy, bubbly, cheeky and full of energy. Now, this tumour has taken away a lot of these beautiful characteristics.

Caiden has a long road ahead and so does his mum, dad, 2 younger siblings and big sister. We all hope that there is a successful treatment plan for the brain tumour but we also know that Caiden will need ongoing support to regain his motor skills, to rebuild his physical strength and recover from the emotional stress his little body has wrongly had to endure.

The treatment and recovery will take time but with this time also means a pause in income and additional, unexpected expenses for his parents, so we are coming together to try and help reprieve some of this financial pressure.

As a family this has been devastating and heart breaking so we thank you for any support that you can provide throughout this difficult time.

Caiden's new Givealittle page can be found here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/caidens-fight-against-a-terminal-brain-stem-tumour

Jenna Bensley-Briggs' involvement (page creator)

Jasmine is my very strong and big hearted sister.

Use of funds

The goal of this page is to take away some of the financial burden of living expenses while there is a pause of an income and travel costs.

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Latest update

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Update from Mum and Dad  12 July 2023

Posted by: Jasmine Dell

Over the last 6 weeks Caiden hasn't been able to be at home making memories like he should be. Instead he has been staying in Starship Hospital with his mum with what started out as the campylobacter bug, & resulted in finding an anal ulcer on admission that got worse due to the bug. They aren't 100% sure what caused the ulcers, but it could be a combination of the clinical trial chemo drugs, & pressure in his bottom due to sitting for long periods of time. Caiden has undergone several GA's every 3 or so days to have a vac dressing applied to his bottom. This is the best way to promote faster healing. Because of the location of his ulcer, it is a very tricky place to heal, & very hard to get a dressing to stay on for very long. If we can't get his ulcer to heal they have advised that the best way to heal that area is for him to have a temporary colostomy bag. Sadly that comes with very high risks, so we aren't too happy about proceeding with that option.

We have had to make some very tough decisions around the trial. We have decided not to continue with the medication for Caiden. The trial drugs aren't a cure, but are designed to "hopefully" prolong life. If there was a guarantee that this would cure him, we would be willing to proceed with the medication & work through the nasty side effects, but unfortunately this is not a magic medicine. We are going down the natural path now, in hope that he has great results, while having quality of life, and making beautiful memories.

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Latest donations

Beverley
Beverley on 24 Jul 2023
Sending hugs and kisses 😘 to the Whānau much love ❤️
$100
Chase
Chase on 22 Jul 2023
$50
Margie
Margie on 18 Jul 2023
❤️🙏❤️
$25
Guest Donor
Guest Donor on 17 Jul 2023
$50
Susie Tomlinson
Susie Tomlinson on 16 Jul 2023
$100

Who's involved?

Jenna Bensley-Briggs's avatar
Created by Jenna Bensley-Briggs
Jasmine Dell's avatar
Paying to a verified bank account of Jasmine Dell
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This campaign started on 18 Nov 2022 and ended on 6 Aug 2023.