teamMarius

Dasianu Marius Vasile is a 9-year-old Romanian boy who was severely burned in a November 2007 fire in his home that killed both of his parents. When he was admitted to the hospital, he had burns (many fourth-degree) covering 75 percent of his body, including his face. Since then, all of his fingers have been amputated because they were so badly damaged. He was treated in what is considered one of

This past week Marius figured out he could eat grapes with one hand with his new thumb. We captured some of it on video. Enjoy! And the next time you eat a grape, think of Marius....

We thought everyone might like to see some pictures of activities over the last several weeks. We had spring break and few weeks ago and got a chance to spend a day in the park. Marius also participated in his first pinewood derby and was able to hold a pencil and write with his new thumb! He also wanted to make sure we had photo evidence of him doing chores! Enjoy!

Our good neighbor saw Marius outside in his wheelchair watching the other kids play a few weeks ago. He called them over and said he had an electric wheelchair just sitting in his garage that Marius was welcome to borrow if he would like it. Of course Marius’ face lit up at that. It has been a real blessing. It gives Marius the independence to get around on his own rather than having to wait for someone to push him all the time. With his foot healing, it won’t be long till he no longer needs it but as you’ll see in the video Nate and Marius made, he became a real magician on it.

We are so excited to let all of you know about Marius’ latest surgery. We arrived at Shriners on the 17th of February to have his right toe transferred to his right thumb – a very complex and difficult surgery. Our sweet Marius did amazingly well!

Hello to all Marius Fans!

It has been way too long since we've sent an update on Marius and his life so we'd like to catch everyone up now. He is doing fantastic in all arenas and we are so thrilled for him and his progress.

First and foremost, he started school full time and is a full-fledged 3rd grader at

Greetings from the Southern California arm of Team Marius!  We had a great Christmas with Marius and Ionut in Utah!  There was more snow than there's been in years and it was tons of fun!  To quote from Marius' journal:  "I have a good Christmas.  I went to Utah and played in the snow a lot.  I made a snowman and a snow house and went sledding."  While Marius was tubing with the kids, Ionut and Ashley went snow

Team Marius would like to thank the children and the wonderful staff of River Heights Elementary School in Logan, Utah, for the wonderful penny-drop fundraiser they're holding this year for Marius.  Marius got to meet the children there on April 19th, and they, in turn, were so excited to meet him.  We would like to thank them SO much for their sweet compassion and generosity.

Team Marius is thrilled to announce the engagement of Ashley Ludlow and Ionut Dasianu!  Ionut proposed over the Christmas holiday, Ashley said Yes, and the two are planning an April 25th wedding.  CONGRATULATIONS!

Raquel Marvez of BYU Weekly spent multiple days and countless hours with her crew and the members of Team Marius to capture the story of Marius and Ionut. We think the results are wonderful. If you haven't seen it yet you can download it here.