New Bloomfield Community Raises $143K for Local Girl’s Care

New Bloomfield, a small Callaway County town along Route J, has spent the last two weeks showing up for one of its own: three-year-old Harper Kroeckel, who needs two medical trips to Italy to treat a rare condition no U.S. clinic currently offers.

Harper was born with CM-AVM syndrome — capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation — a genetic disorder that creates abnormal connections between her arteries and veins. According to the National Cancer Institute, as cited by KOMU 8, the condition affects roughly 1 in 100,000 people, and it carries risks beyond the visible skin marks: pain, swelling, bleeding, and a higher chance of developing certain cancers.

Why Does Harper Need to Go to Italy?

Callaway County health care has been in the local news for other reasons lately — MU Health Care is taking over a Holts Summit pharmacy this winter — but for the Kroeckels, the care Harper needs isn’t down the road. It’s with Dr. Giacomo Colletti’s team in Italy, the only one offering Modified Electrosclerotherapy, or MEST, for Harper’s condition. The treatment isn’t FDA-approved in the United States. Harper needs two MEST sessions spaced months apart, with a possible third trip for surgery depending on how she responds.

How Much Has the Community Raised?

Covering two overseas medical trips isn’t cheap, and New Bloomfield’s answer has been remarkable: as of this week, more than 3,100 donors have given a combined $143,405 toward the family’s GoFundMe, pushing the goal itself up to $180,000 to cover ongoing care, additional trips and the possible surgery. “We have been able to raise $143,000 on our own through fundraising,” Michaela Kroeckel said, crediting the local support that’s let the family afford Harper’s first two treatments in Italy.

Harper’s first MEST treatment is scheduled for Nov. 26 — Thanksgiving Day — a detail that’s given the fundraiser’s title, “Help Harper Get Life-Changing Treatment,” an extra note of gratitude this year.

It’s the kind of rally Callaway County neighbors have shown before. Earlier this month, Missouri River Relief brought New Bloomfield R-III fourth graders out to the Missouri River for a day of hands-on lessons as part of the nonprofit’s 25th-anniversary programming — a smaller reminder that this corner of the county shows up for its kids. This time, the whole town turned that same spirit toward one little girl’s shot at a normal, pain-free childhood.

Neighbors who want to help can find the family’s fundraiser through the GoFundMe page linked from KOMU 8’s coverage of Harper’s story.