Donate | Craniofacial Australia

"Anything is possible with the right people in your corner"

-Michelle, mum of Cranio Warrior Nash (pictured)

The impact of major surgery on a newborn baby's skull is hard enough without the extra pressure of financial hardship.

Thank you for donating to our Christmas Wish Appeal, helping to provide support to people like Michelle and her son Nash.

One of the things we do at Craniofacial Australia is work with families whose newborn baby is facing a craniofacial diagnosis. Christmas can be unbearably hard for these families. The pressure on families is profound.

They are facing the unknown
They feel scared and alone
They are exhausted from the whirlwind of back-to-back appointments
They are feeling the financial strain
They don’t know where to turn, who to talk to
They’re unsure what the future holds, even after treatment

It’s fair to say that their Christmas Wish looks different to most. This year, will you stand with us by donating to our Christmas Wish Appeal?

You have the power to tick hope and care off someone's Wish List. Something so simple, but with the power to change everything.

The “newborn phase” should be a time filled with happiness and joy for parents. A craniofacial diagnosis is often unexpected and changes life in an instant. Suddenly, the days and nights are overshadowed with fear, anxiety and grief.

This is Mum Michelle’s experience and it isn’t unlike so many other stories we hear every day at Craniofacial Australia. Months after her first-born Nash’s birth, months after instinctively knowing the shape of his head wasn’t quite right, Nash was diagnosed with Metopic Craniosynostosis. Not knowing where to turn, Michelle reached out to Craniofacial Australia for support and assistance.

For many people like Michelle, craniofacial treatment can come with a number of unexpected costs - such as scans, specialist appointments and traveling to cities for treatment. Many of these things are not covered by either Medicare or private health insurance. Living in a rural area, Michelle had no choice but to take time off work which, as a sole financial provider, posed an extra burden.

“I completed the financial assistance paperwork and was incredibly relieved when my application was approved. The financials were no longer going to be a big stretch.”

Nash was in theatre for 7 long hours, then ICU for 24 hours. The swelling was confronting, but he recovered well.

Bit by bit, despair transformed to hope.

“The surgery was life-changing. His development improved immediately after surgery, and after being advised his speech may be delayed, my little chatterbox is showing me that anything is possible with the right people in your corner. The ongoing emotional support and the financial assistance that Craniofacial Australia gave us will never be forgotten.”

With a generous donation, you’ll make sure that other families just like Michelle’s have access to help at their time of need, sparing them from facing the turmoil alone.

Thank you for generosity.