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Amanda Butterfield reportingA group of BYU students and graduates has unofficially adopted a Romanian boy, Marius, who lost his parents in a house explosion in the fall. The boy barely survived himself, and doctors in Romania say they've done all they can do for him. That's not good enough for "Team Marius."
Just a few months ago, Marius was a smiling young boy, happily living with his parents in Romania. A fire changed everything.
In November, a boiler in his home exploded.
Andrea Christensen, with Team Marius, says, "He has no eyelids, he can't close his eyes. He has no fingers, can't sit up, just got in wheelchair the first time the other day. All he remembers is jumping out the window. His parents were killed."
Andrea's sister Ashley and another BYU student were interning in Romania and met Marius. "She got faint the first time she saw him because he was so badly burned," Andrea says. But the two decided to help the boy any way they could. They don't live in state, but recruited family members and friends in Utah and California, and formed Team Marius.
Kaitlyn Isaac, a member of the team, says, "Right when I saw the picture of Marius, I just started crying." She jumped on the bandwagon and is organizing an auction in Spanish Fork on Saturday.
Marius has been accepted into Shriners Hospital in California, but someone has to pay for his visa, plane tickets for him, his brother, sister, and an interpreter.
"I have never been one to try and save the world, but this is one little boy we could help," Andrea says.
And he's going to need a lot of help for a long time. Doctors say Marius will need at least eight years of surgeries and treatment. Team Marius is committed to helping him through it, and longer, even though most of them have never met the 9-year-old. "I never thought I could love someone I never met, but I really, really do," Andrea says.
Andrea will get to meet Marius in June or July when he arrives at Shriners Hospital.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
