Caelen's Quest: Campaign Disrupted

7 November 2014

Campaign Disrupted

*UPDATE*

PayPal has kindly agree to release the funds raised as an exception.

We are thankful for that!

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There has been an unfortunate twist to our crowd-funding campaign.

PayPal has emailed to inform that they will terminate our account as the collection of funds through PayPal is against their policies. Indiegogo has offered PayPal as payment gateway nonetheless (This really needs to be sorted out!).

Funds raised as of today via PayPal will be rejected. As for funds raised prior will also be locked until further notice by PayPal. As advised, probably requires another 180 days before they will release the funds.

Hence, I urge kind funders to visit our blog for alternative options to help.

Thank you all for your understanding.

We will provide an update on case with PayPal when we have more information.

4 comments:

Anonymous7 November 2014 at 23:45
Hi Caelen's mommy. I happened to know about Caelen through a post in FB. He is such a bright little boy. Special in his own ways.

My prayers to him & you. May this tomato chair be a gateway for him to see the world from a different view. And may you have the strongest strength for the roads ahead. God bless.
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Lowell8 November 2014 at 12:40
Thank you for your blessings.

We hope the exposure and experience he has now will help lay a good foundation for his future learning. With technology, I'm sure it is achievable. We need to have faith.
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Anonymous9 November 2014 at 09:10
it is really not easy for you and your family..Stay strong & be well. God bless.
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Lowell9 November 2014 at 22:42
Thank you, we will try to do our best.
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Beginning of his Journey

Caelen was diagnosed with Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) on 13 Jan 2014, at age 10 months.

SMA is caused by a missing or abnormal (mutated) gene known as survival motor neuron gene 1 (SMN1). In a healthy person, this gene produces a protein in the body called survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. In a person with mutated genes, this protein is absent or significantly decreased, and causes severe problems for motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the spinal cord which send out nerve fibres to muscles throughout the body. Since SMN protein is critical to the survival and health of motor neurons, nerve cells may shrink and eventually die without this protein, resulting in muscle weakness.

The hallmark feature of SMA Type I is that children are unable to sit or stand without help. They will require equipment such as strollers or wheelchairs for mobility. Swallowing and feeding will become difficult for children with this type of SMA and they will eventually lose the ability to swallow safely without aspirating. Children may eventually require a feeding tube to supplement their nutrition which permits the administration of liquid food into their stomachs.

Children with SMA Type 1 will also experience weakness of the muscles used for breathing, those that help expand the chest and fill the lungs with air. The chest is smaller than usual in these children and they begin to breathe using primarily their stomach muscles (belly breathing). The lungs do not fully develop due to this type of breathing, and coughing becomes very weak. It may be difficult for children to get enough air into their lungs while sleeping, and eventually throughout the day. Many of these children will require equipment to help them breathe; again this is based on what each family chooses. Weakness also leads to problems with the spine (scoliosis) and hips (displacement) that may lead to further loss of ability/function.

Source: Families of SMA