Help Us Give Our Baby Girl a Fighting Chance
Baby Mia was born on the 1st of July 2026, and she needs your help.
Before Mia was born, she was diagnosed with congenital heart block. This means there is a delay in the electrical signals that control her heartbeat. She needed special care during pregnancy. Martin and Delia, her parents, live and work in Mossel Bay, but because of Mia’s condition, they were advised to let Delia give birth at the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, where her condition could be assessed and monitored immediately upon birth. Below are some of the content before Mia was born, as well as the updates and content afterwards.
We split this site into two primary sections:
- After Mia was born, where we tell you all that is happening, and updates are given as often as we can, and
- Before Mia was born, when this page was stagnant with limited information available to us at that time.
Post Birth Area
Our Target
We setup a Back-a-Buddy campaign months before Mia was born as we anticipated expenses to be covered.
When we first shared Mia’s story in this section of the website, our little girl was fighting for her life in the Neonatal and finally Pediatric ICU. Today, we are incredibly grateful to share a very different update:
Mia is home. She is safe, thriving, and doing so well. ❤️
But although Mia is home, our journey isn’t quite over.
We are now facing the enormous medical bills left behind by her hospitalisation, surgery, intensive care and treatment.
Mia’s hospital bill alone currently stands at R706,055.99.
After payments and medical aid contributions, we currently have a shortfall of approximately:
R301 000, according to our medical aid summary that was sent to us. This includes all claims submitted to the medical aid by the hospital, the doctors/specialists, and lab tests. Total medical expense only is currently over R1 200 000.00, leaving us with a shortfall of over R300 000.00 to cover.
We initially aimed to raise R90,000 to cover the costs of weekly visits to specialists in Mossel Bay, George, and Cape Town.
As time progressed, we, unfortunately, had to make multiple edits to that amount as more costs not covered by medical aid were made known to us, for example, deposits at the hospital, fees by medical staff not covered by our medical aid, and the costs associated with staying at guest houses and having meals where we could not self-cater for four weeks while Mia was in hospital. Aftercare for Mia also needs to be covered.
Donate
You may donate in several ways
Back-a-Buddy
To donate via Back-a-Buddy, please visit https://backabuddy.co.za/campaign/help-us-give-our-baby-girl-a-fighting-chance
EFT
To donate via EFT, please use the information below:
Media
We received unexpected but much-appreciated help from Savanna Douglas and the Good Things Guy when they published an article about Mia. Contributions started to flow in, and our goal amount shot up from 9% to 79% over only two days. Thank you so much, Savanna, Brent, and every person who donated!
Savanna Douglas and the Good Things Guy surprised us with a follow-up article, and we appreciate them for allowing us to give feedback to all the anonymous donors who supported us. Thank you so much, Savanna, Brent, and every person who donated!
You Magazine published an article on Mia on 13 August 2026.
Huisgenoot published an article on Mia on 20 August 2026.
Updates
Pre Birth Area
Our Little Mia
She is our miracle baby — a precious gift after the heartbreak of three miscarriages — and we are holding onto hope with everything we have.
As parents, there is nothing more important to us than protecting our child. Right now, that means frequent medical visits, constant monitoring, preparing for a high-risk birth and getting a pacemaker directly after birth for her.
We have already spent approximately R8,200 on consultations and blood tests, which were unfortunately not covered by our medical aid, adding to the growing financial strain we are facing.
We need to travel regularly to Cape Town for specialist care, and her delivery will need to take place at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital — a facility equipped to handle her condition. Unfortunately, this hospital is not covered by our medical aid, and we are facing a co-payment of R15,000 just for admission alone, along with additional costs for travel, accommodation, and ongoing medical care.
Our medical aid has already been depleted due to the high frequency of weekly gynecologist visits needed to monitor her heart. Each visit is essential to ensure she is still stable and to act quickly if anything changes.
We never imagined we would find ourselves in a position where we would need to ask for help like this, but we are doing everything we can for our daughter.
Your support will go directly towards:
- Travel and accommodation for specialist visits
- Weekly medical monitoring and consultations
- The hospital co-payment and delivery costs
- Any emergency care that may be needed
Every contribution, no matter how small, brings us one step closer to giving our baby girl the care she desperately needs.
If you are unable to donate, sharing this campaign would mean the world to us.
Thank you for standing with us during this incredibly difficult time and helping us give our daughter the best possible start in life.
With gratitude and hope,
Martin, Delia and soon to come, Mia
Please help us to ensure a safe delivery and start to life for Mia
