Livingston Family Raises Money To Save Baby Niece’s Life | Livingston, NJ Patch – Patch.com

LIVINGSTON, NJ —Longtime Livingston residents John and Anna Marek are spreading the word about a GoFundMe project to raise money so that their 6-month-old baby niece in Poland can travel to California for life-saving heart surgery.

The fundraiser, run by Anna’s nephew Lucjan Koziol — who also lives in North Jersey and works for John’s Livingston-based contracting company — explained,”My name is Lucjan and I am fundraising for my niece, Emilia Wilk, who needs a lifesaving heart surgery in the United States. The cost of surgery in the United States is over 1.4 million dollars. Please read her story and donate to help save Emilia’s life!”

“Emilia is a strong and beautiful girl,” her relatives say, “who has been fighting for her life since the day she was born. She enjoys every second in this world and wants a chance to live!”

Emilia was born in July of 2021 in Poland with the severe heart defect called tetralogy of Fallot, according to family.

She recently had urgent surgery in Poland and is recovering, but it’s only a temporary fix.

“In Poland, Emilia’s only option is a series of multiple surgeries that will prolong her life and suffering, but will never fully cure her,” explains the page. “The only place where Emilia’s heart can be fully corrected is at a clinic in Stanford in the United States.”

“Emilia is a happy child,” added the family, “despite the pain and suffering she has already experienced in her first few months of life.”

They asked asked anyone who can share her story to do so.

Lucjan Koziol told Patch this week, “We appreciate every single little thing that can be done to save her life. I am working as carpenter for MJ22 LLC [John Marek’s business] in Livingston since 2004.”

Lucjan’s mother is Anna Marek’s sister, he said. “The Marek family has been helpful all the time,” he said. “They are going from place to place asking for donations. They are doing everything they can to help Emilia so she can have lifesaving surgery in California. Her case is not so easy.”

The GoFundMe has received some donations, but not enough to bring Emilia to the United States. To donate and find out more, click the fundraising page here.

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