Please help Julia eat and drink again!
This fundraising is to help Julia access critical surgery in Germany so she can eat and drink again and regain quality of life.
Wellington
Julia needs surgery which is not available in NZ. She cannot eat or drink and suffers from vomiting, pain and other horrific symptoms.
Julia is a bright, determined 15yo with an amazing attitude despite her terrible health challenges. Julia loves school and is a loyal, fun friend and sibling. She used to do competitive Cheerleading, tumbling, violin, debating and babysitting and helped teach younger Cheer teams. All this has been taken from her by her health issues.
Since March 2023, Julia has been in and out of hospital, sometimes for weeks with medical instability. She has endured dozens of horrific invasive procedures and relies on a nasal tube for all hydration and nutrition. She has very little quality of life.
Julia’s symptoms are caused by multiple abdominal vascular compression syndromes and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a rare connective tissue disorder). Vascular surgeons in NZ, Germany and the US agree that Julia needs surgery asap. The longer her blood vessels are compressed, the more her organs are damaged. This highly specialized surgery is unavailable in NZ but an expert in Germany can operate her. The surgeon (who has treated over a dozen Kiwis) is confident his surgery will enable her to eat and drink, resolve her other symptoms and restore quality of life.
Julia is often told how she inspires people with her incredible resilience and positive attitude. All she wants is to go to school again, do her hobbies and have fun with her friends. Please help her.
Babette Puetz's involvement (page creator)
Julia's Mother and Bill Choquette is her father
Use of funds
Thank you for your generous support, which we greatly appreciate.
All funds donated will be used to help cover the costs for Julia’s surgery and related costs, such as travel and rehabilitation.
Latest update
Julia update 7 November 2024
Julia is getting better and better. She is of course still resting a lot but also has been out and about a bit and enjoyed some sightseeing. Every day I am amazed how much better Julia is than before her surgery, even though she is still only at the start of her recovery.
Yesterday we were back in Leipzig for post op ultrasound scans to see how exactly Julia’s blood flow has changed since the operation. As Julia’s symptoms had improved so much, we were not surprised that it was confirmed that the surgery was a success. The grafts that were placed around her compressed blood vessels are working well.
It was especially nice to see how genuinely happy Prof. Scholbach was to see Julia feeling so much better. This was the same with Julia’s surgeon in Düsseldorf, Prof. Sandmann, who took time out of his very busy schedule to celebrate with us how well Julia was doing over ice cream the day she was discharged.
We feel so lucky and grateful that Julia was helped by these two (and other) not only amazingly skilled but also genuinely compassionate doctors over here. We could not have wished for better care for her.
Thank you all so much for helping to make this possible for Julia and for taking the time to read our updates to find out how Julia is doing.
Latest donations
Thank you so much, Guest Donor, for thinking of Julia and donating! Julia is recovering really well.
Danke für Deine lieben Worte, Nina, und die Spende. Es geht auf jeden Fall aufwärts.
Oh, wow, Rachel! Thank you so much! x
Vielen, vielen Dank, liebe Tatjana! xxx
Thank you so much, Guest Donor, for thinking of Julia and your very kind donation! That's so nice of you.
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