Alice Springs local Alexis Taylor launches GoFundMe to get special therapy for her son

A little known virus has turned a young mothers world upside down, and now she’s calling on the communities help. Find out more.

Alexis Taylor and her son Aemilius. Alice Springs local Alexis Taylor has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for airfares and accommodation to get her son Aemilius to a special kind of therapy on the Gold Coast. Picture: Supplied/ Alexis Taylor

Inadequate disability services and a little known virus is forcing a young mother to leave the Red Centre to seek the correct therapy for her toddler – and now she needs the public’s help.

With a flight out of Alice Springs “quite expensive”, Alexis Taylor has launched a GoFundMe to raise money to get her two-and-a-half-year-old son Aemilius to the Gold Coast for therapy.

“Alice Springs just doesn’t have the facilities,” she said.

Aemilius. Picture: Supplied/ Alexis Taylor

The Gold Coast has dynamic movement intervention (DMI) therapy – something Ms Taylor thinks will help her son.

Aemilius needs this therapy because he was born with cytomegalovirus, a little known virus which affects pregnant women.

“It’s giving him low muscle tone, it’s giving him gross motor delay, it’s giving him brain changes and sensory issues as well,” she said.

“Not autism because he hasn’t been tested for that yet, but like just processing issues; he can’t eat and drink – he won’t because he’s got severe food aversions.”

Before Aemilius was born, Ms Taylor spent 10 years working at Tangentyere Council, but said she had since given up the job to look after her son full time.

Ms Taylor said all the money raised from the fundraiser would go towards paying for flights and accommodation in the Gold Coast.

Aemilius and Nicole Moffatt at Moving Kids Physio in Adelaide doing dynamic movement intervention therapy. Picture: Supplied/ Alexis Taylor

“The good thing about DMI is it helps with neuroplasticity, so the therapist moves the child’s body around and manipulates it and it helps them actually do things they would usually be able to do,” she said.

So far, little Aemilius has learned how to sit up and crawl, and had even come close to taking his first steps, Ms Taylor said.

“But that took him a long time to get there,” she said.

Cytomegalovirus is from the herpes family, and was unfortunately passed on to little Aemilius during pregnancy, Ms Taylor said.

“So when I was pregnant, I didn’t know that I’d caught the virus,” she said.

“I got sick during my pregnancy, but I just assumed it was covid because I did have covid because it presents as a cold usually.

“The virus is only dangerous to women if they catch it for the first time during their pregnancy.”