We use this page to keep everyone up to date about Andrew and the charities he supports. Andrew’s Story
Andrew is a twin. He and his brother Alex were born 8 weeks premature (32 weeks gestation). The two were hospitalized for 3 weeks after birth due to difficulties of being born so early. After 3 weeks, they were released to come home. All was well until one week later. At age 4 weeks, Andrew bec
ame ill. He was taken to his pediatrician’s office who immediately called an ambulance to have him transported to the emergency department at A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, DE. Andrew was in respiratory distress. His body temperature was dropping dangerously low. At the ER, he was immediately put on oxygen, and had a crew of doctors working on him to keep him alive. His outlook was not good. In fact, I, his mother, was told he would not make it past the hour. His will to live surpassed the laws of nature. The minutes turned to hours and he kept fighting to live. He amazed the hospital staff by every additional moment/hour/day he lived. Andrew was diagnosed with having contracted Group B Strep bacterial spinal meningitis. It was a horrible diagnosis. Because of the meningitis, Andrew suffered from two strokes and horrific seizures at the age of 4 weeks old. His 5 pound body was overcome by the disease. Although his will to live was so strong, it couldn’t save him from the effects of the meningitis. Andrew’s brain had been damaged too badly. He remained in the ICU for 13 weeks, slowly weaned off life support, given over 16 blood transfusions, and had doctors from around the country investigating and working with his care team until he was well enough to come home to be with his twin brother, his mom, and his dad. Due to the meningitis, Andrew suffers from quadriplegia spastic cerebral palsy; severe, uncontrolled epilepsy; cortical vision impairment; global developmental delay; is fed a special diet called the Ketogenic Diet via a feeding tube in his stomach; and is non-verbal, non-mobile. The entire surface of his brain is damaged and it affects all of his gross and fine motor skills. He relies on his Mom, Dad, and two brothers for all of his daily living needs. His will to live….unchanged. He is now 7 years old and is the sweetest angel. He attends a special purpose school, The Morrison Center. He has many therapies in school but he is still non-mobile and requires a lot of equipment for his growing body. Everything from transporting him in and out of the home, bathing, feeding, wheelchairs, seating support equipment, and vehicle transportation are all major challenges. He is getting to be a very big boy and as his body grows, his mobility challenges become greater. His care requires a great deal of extraordinary expenses and unfortunately we have not been able to provide him with everything he needs for the proper support in our home and transportation needs. He has many physicians that care for him which requires many trips to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. We are also limited to the amount of therapies he can receive to help strengthen his body because his two insurances will not cover the added expenses. Andrew’s recent health issues have caused a decline in his overall health and life expectancy. Between January 2014 and June 2014 Andrew has battled pneumonia 6 times and has been hospitalized 4 times. His last occurrence of pneumonia left him in the ICU for 6 days and 3 of those days were spent on life support so that his little body could heal without working. Through all his struggles, he remains a sweet boy that never gives up. He has a story to share. Even though he can’t speak, he teaches everyone who meets him and has provided life-long lessons about love, struggle, and faith to many.
