Mateoh Eggleton gets ‘supertee’ from Courier-Mail Children’s Fund
His life is in the balance, but six-year-old Mateoh Eggleton has received a much-needed boost from a ‘super-powered’ outfit.
Lifestyle
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A brave little Gold Coast boy fighting for survival after his transplant bone marrow cells were accidentally left on a US tarmac is one of dozens of sick Queensland kids gifted special superhero costumes, thanks to The Courier-Mail Children’s Fund.
Mateoh Eggleton, 6, underwent a bone-marrow transplant at Queensland Children’s Hospital in March with donated cells that were rushed to Australia after being mistakenly left at an American airport in a transport bungle.
He was released last month but is now back in and out of hospital receiving chemotherapy and blood transfusions after the transplant failed to fix his haemolytic anaemia – a disorder where red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be produced.
His family are now desperately trying to raise funds to take him overseas for specialist treatment.
“He’s doing it very tough,” Mateoh’s mother Shalyn said.
“The transplant hasn’t worked, unfortunately, and he has to have blood transfusions and chemo twice a week to keep him alive.
“Without that treatment, we’ve been told he will pass away pretty much straight away.”
Ms Eggleton said Mateoh’s spirits had been buoyed after he was given a “supertee”, a special medical garment disguised as a superhero outfit.
He is one of more than 350 sick kids given the shirts – which are designed to allow children to be hooked up to IV drips, heart monitors and other medical equipment – with the help of a $20,000 donation from The Courier-Mail Children’s Fund to supertee charity the Fair Fight Foundation.
“Mateoh has been down in the dumps that he’s not getting better, and putting the supertee on has given him a lift,” Ms Eggleton said.
“It shows what a real superhero he is and gives him a bit of inspiration to keep fighting. He’s such a courageous little boy.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to assist the Eggleton family.
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