Over £25,000 raised for York baby to have medical treatment
Baby Vienna was born with a skin condition in April 2021.
A York family raising money for their baby's medical treatment have successfully raised over £25,000.
Baby Vienna was born at York Hospital in April of this year with congenital melanocytic nevus - a large birthmark that will grow as her head grows.
Parents Celine Casey and Daniel Brookshaw say treatment for the pigment can't be done on the NHS, meaning they're choosing to go to The Portland Hospital in London for the surgery.
As it'll be a private procedure, the MRI alone will cost £3,374. The plan is for Vienna to undergo 3 serial excision surgeries, starting around the age of 10 months old.
She will then have to repeat the procedure 6 months later and the 3rd one in a further 6 months.
For all the surgical procedures it will cost £11,258 in total.
A GoFundMe page was set up with an initial target of just over £14,000, but since then the fundraising goal has been nearly doubled by donations.
Mum Celine told Greatest Hits Radio York the generosity of people has been incredible: "We were both so overwhelmed; we thought we'd get a couple of hundreds pounds, so this is just amazing.
"We want Vienna to have that first day of school without anyone bullying or questioning her about what the mark is.
"It's really important that the surgery is done now rather than later so that we can protect her from that".
Dad Daniel added: "In these tough times when people are going through a lot, it's incredible they've been able to set aside time for families like ours. It's fantastic that people have been so generous, and that people can come together to help".
Daniel says they're in talks with doctors at the moment to sort out an MRI scan, and the surgery will be done in stages.
"We want the MRI done within a few months so that it's not connected to anything, then when Vienna is over the age of 1 she'll have her first surgery (one of three), then after the third surgery that'll hopefully be the end of it for her.
"We were taken by surprise and had no idea about the condition when she was born. Hopefully if anybody ends up in the same situation as us they'll be aware of what it actually is.
"We want to give people more confidence to show their babies off when they're going through situations like this. We've had messages of people hiding their children's faces because of similar birthmarks, but have then been inspired by us showing Vienna off".
Celine says Vienna's lovely personality has shone through: "She's so cheeky and smiley; she's so lovely and a happy normal baby. We're lucky that she's healthy, but this for Vienna will just change everything for her when she's a lot older. It'll mean a lot".
Any money raised above the amount for Vienna's treatment will be donated to a children's charity.
More information on the family's fundraiser can be found here.