Little Mate J

"My heart is bleeding for my gorgeous little mate J - he is fighting so hard to win a very tough battle against leukemia... but things are not looking good at the moment.

J is experiencing serious complications from a bone marrow transplant and his vital organs are slowly seizing up. J's strong mum is at the hospital day and night, but his dad has been forced to stay in NSW to keep working otherwise they will lose their business and house.

I would love to raise some desperately needed funds for this family so J's dad can take time off work and spend precious time with his son. No parent should have to be away from their child during something like this. If anyone knows anyone - individuals, companies, charities - that can help.

Any contribution will be a huge help, this family has become an extension of my own. Please, please spread this message x" - Holly Rominov (via Facebook)

It's time to stop pressing the Like button and put your heart into something. Holly Rominov is a volunteer, she provides personal aid to help J's family on a regular basis and asks nothing in return. One person can only do so much, but with your help she can give a father some precious time with his terminally ill toddler. Even if you can't donate, you can help by sharing, tweeting, telling your friends and family. Please, time is running out.

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07/03/2013 @ 9:00PM - UPDATE
Thank you so much for the support so far - the quick response has been overwhelming.

The doctor's have given J until this Monday 11th March to show signs of improvement...if there isn't any, the family will sadly be looking into end of life care for him.

Monday 11th March is a big day for another reason - it is J and his twin sister's 2nd birthday. His father and sister will be by his side this weekend and hopefully with the funds raised they will be able to stay in Melbourne so the family can be all together. Holly and J's family are so moved by your generosity so far, thank you so so much.

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08/03/2013 @ 7:10PM - UPDATE

Hi all, Holly here.

Some concerns have been raised over the last 24 hours as to the validity and genuine nature of this fundraising attempt, so I wanted to offer some information to alleviate any concerns people might have.

It seems some of our donators were confused by the email address attached to the Paypal account, being that of Sam Buckley. Sam (aka Valstorm) is a close friend of mine who very kindly set up this fundraising page in record time and as I do not have a Paypal account, he is letting me use his.  I assure you that Sam is real and (unfortunately) the plight of little J and his family are very real. I appreciate your concerns and hope that this helps in some way to allay them.

J’s family and I are beyond grateful for everyone’s generosity with their time and money – the response has been completely overwhelming - and send a huge thank you to all who have contributed so far.

Much love and gratitude to everyone, stay tuned for further updates.

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08/03/2013 @ 7:55PM - UPDATE

In a heartbreaking update, J is still experiencing many serious complications from his bone marrow transplant, including grave problems with his liver; as a result his body is retaining dangerous levels of fluid which is causing other serious complications such as fluid on his lungs and breathing difficulties. He is going into surgery tonight to have some of the fluid drained and may be moved into ICU.

J’s dad is flying down to Melbourne tomorrow, bringing J's twin sister and older sister. We are all hoping and praying that J stays strong and can celebrate his 2^nd birthday with his twin sister on Monday. With the funds raised, J’s dad will hopefully be able to remain down in Melbourne to be with his wife and be by his son’s side in these very difficult days ahead.

Please continue to show your support and help this stuggling family to be together.

Thank you so much.

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12/03/2013 @ 6:12PM - UPDATE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY J!!!!!! J celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday with all of his loving family by his side (and lots of fabulous balloons - see added picture). J's mum has kindly provided the following update for our donators to read: 

"Hello all. From the time J was diagnosed with his liver complications (nearly 2 weeks ago) till now, things have been hideously difficult. The blood vessels in the liver have gotten clogged allowing only a small amount of anything to be filtered through. Hence, the liver becomes enlarged and fluids then leak into the abdominal area causing his tummy to swell. It presses up on his lungs causing breathing difficulties as the fluid seeping into the lungs makes them soggy. His largest girth measurement was 69.2cm. Massive!! And his weight crept up to 19.7kg. When we came into hospital he was 14.3kg. He's probably carrying about 2-3 litres of fluid. Our poor little man was in hideous pain which for some reason the doctors couldn't get on top of it until last Wednesday. Day and night J was crying, the screaming and doing circle work around the cot just to get some relief. And no sleep until he collapsed in my arms Sunday morning with exhaustion. I've shed a few tears watching helplessly and then the anger sets in. There had been a few times that he nearly went to ICU. Last Tuesday J went to theatre and had a needle inserted into his belly and had 850mls of fluid sucked out. Going to theatre had its own complications such as the intubation tube getting stuck in his throat, infection etc. All went well but the fluid came back within 24hrs. Wednesday his pain relief drugs were completely changed as one of them was causing hallucinations, bad dreams, anger and aggitation while the other caused hayfever like symptoms. He went back to theatre Friday night to have a tube inserted in his abdomen to allow continual but slow draining of the fluid. The surgeon had to drain 400mls on the op table as the intubation tube got stuck in this throat. Over the last 24hrs, 1919mls has been drained with more to go. We are still waiting and praying that this one last wonder drug to fix his liver is going to work or not.."

We are all still praying and hoping J will start showing signs of improvement. His family have decided to keep fighting! Thank you so much for the incredible support many people have shown J and his family so far through this site. Every cent raised is helping the family be together in Melbourne - they are more grateful than anyone could ever imagine, being given the gift of time with their gorgeous little man J.

Thank you for your ongoing donations...