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Family of youngest Cyclone Gabrielle victim need support due to newborn's heart condition

Author
Hawkes Bay Today,
Publish Date
Mon, 11 Sep 2023, 5:19pm
Ivy Collins and her mother Ella Collins. Photo / Ella Collins
Ivy Collins and her mother Ella Collins. Photo / Ella Collins

Family of youngest Cyclone Gabrielle victim need support due to newborn's heart condition

Author
Hawkes Bay Today,
Publish Date
Mon, 11 Sep 2023, 5:19pm

A friend of the family who lost their 2-year-old daughter to Cyclone Gabrielle has started a fundraiser to support them after their new baby was born with a heart condition.

Mum Ella Collins was pregnant with her and husband Jack鈥檚 third child at the time.

Baby Jack has since joined the family, but the challenges didn鈥檛 end there for the Collins wh膩nau, as he was born with atrial tachycardia, a type of fast and irregular heart rhythm.

Shortly after Cyclone Gabrielle, the community rallied behind them, and two听听received donations from around the country.

Louise Parsons, a neighbour and friend of the family, decided to open another听听to help the grieving family amid their latest challenges.

鈥淭he main motivation [for me] is I know they haven鈥檛 had a chance to grieve for Ivy because it has all been so traumatic, and then on top of that, their little boy [has been] born with a heart condition. Something that they were looking forward to [has become] 鈥榓nother broken heart鈥, basically in their words,鈥 Parsons said.

She said people living where they were听听and were 鈥渋n limbo鈥, still waiting for decisions to be finalised before they could听

听鈥淚 have been quite close to [the family] lately, and financially, there has been a lot of pressure there, so I thought, 鈥榊ou know what? New Zealand wouldn鈥檛 mind dipping in again for them鈥,鈥 she said.

鈥淔or them to speak about losing Ivy was a big deal, but they did it for the good of everybody else, and that is the kind of people that they are.鈥

To donate, search for 鈥樷 on the Givelittle site.

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