Extra support for baby Odette thanks to MLS nv Menen 

Pauline Vanruymbeke and Jens Cottijn from Moorsele, the parents of baby Odette who was born with a serious eye condition, are getting extra financial support from the MLS company from Menen. A few weeks ago, the parents started a crowdfunding to cover the medical costs. 

Describing the happiness that brand-new parents experience seems an impossible task. For Pauline Vanruymbeke and dad Jens Cottijn from Moorsele, the birth of their daughter Odette was absolutely not different. Yet the young couple knew that the girl would most probably be born with a disorder. 

‘During my pregnancy, I contracted a virus that could be dangerous for the foetus. The doctors feared possible brain damage, but luckily Odette was spared from that,’ says Pauline. However, the baby suffered from an eye condition. At birth, Odette had only one eye, but she is completely blind. The medical term is: Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia. The girl needs an eye prosthesis that has to be replaced every three weeks, and this is a very costly affair that the health insurance fund only covers twice a year. 

'That's why we started a crowdfunding a few weeks ago to cover these costs,’ Jens said. This fundraising campaign already had great success, as the couple has already received more than 60,000 euros in financial support. ‘This is a very nice amount, but we still estimate that we will need around 20,000 euros a year on all these costs, such as osteopathy and physiotherapy so any help is more than welcome,’ Pauline says. 

Odette's story also touched boss and entrepreneur Wilmer Verniers of the Menen-based company MLS. The man clearly has his heart in the right place, because when it comes to supporting good causes, Wilmer is not at his experimental stage. ‘With our celebration committee from MLS, we always enjoy supporting all kinds of good causes. Last year, we already held a nice support event in favour of Dominiek Savio. This time, we wanted to contribute to something closer from home. One of our staff happened to know Jens Cottijn and a support campaign to help little Odette came up immediately,’ Wilmer says. MLS stands for ‘Medisch Labo Service’ (Medical Laboratory Service) and was founded in 1986. The company specialises in wholesale of pharmaceuticals and disposable lab equipment. 

Wilmer invited the young couple into the company today and casually donated the nice sum of 2,500 euros. ‘Our aim here at MLS is not to 'just' hand over a cheque, but mainly to give a boost to other companies so that they also feel called to make a donation to Pauline and Jens. If I am allowed to use my name in this action it is mainly to create a snowball effect among ‘my’ colleagues and associate companies to mitigate the annual medical expenses for little Odette,’ Wilmer says. 

‘This help greatly pleases us. Surely it gives us that moral boost we so desperately need in our situation. We therefore thank MLS for this extra support that we can definitely use,’ Pauline concludes. 

(Nicolas Verhaeghe)