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.
The Collins family tragically lost Ivy as floodwaters hit Esk Valley on February 14.
Mum Ella Collins was pregnant with her and husband Jack’s third child at the time.
Baby Jack has since joined the family, but the challenges didn’t end there for the Collins whānau, 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 Givealittle pages opened on their behalf received donations from around the country.
Louise Parsons, a neighbour and friend of the family, decided to open another Givealittle page to help the grieving family amid their latest challenges.
“The main motivation [for me] is I know they haven’t 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] ‘another broken heart’, basically in their words,” Parsons said.
She said people living where they were sat in Category 2A and were “in limbo”, still waiting for decisions to be finalised before they could receive insurance payouts.
“I have been quite close to [the family] lately, and financially, there has been a lot of pressure there, so I thought, ‘You know what? New Zealand wouldn’t mind dipping in again for them’,” she said.
“For 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.”
To donate, search for ‘Help Ivy’s family’ on the Givelittle site.
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