Help Treat Trevor

Hope.  

Humans thrive on hope.  We hope for things we may not even understand.  We hope for the future.  We hope for a better tomorrow.  For our children, for ourselves, for those we care about.    

And sometimes things rise so sharply against us, that holding onto hope becomes tenuous.  Stress ravaging us against the pitfalls of what may  yet be.  

This campaign is about hope.  There are many wonderful causes out there, so many on this site.  But I am asking you to help my friends Eric & Carrie Goettl with their son, Trevor.  I'm asking for you to help lift them up, to give them hope.  

I want you to think about a young man, 14 years old that you know, who's a good kid.  Incredibly smart, funny and fun to be around, and always on the go, anything outdoors or spending time with his siblings & parents.    That was Trevor.  Straight A student, boy scout, musically gifted, self taught on the guitar, and plays the trumpet and piano.  

In Jr High Trevor got sick.  He missed 6 weeks of school while Dr's tried to diagnose what was wrong, as strong Cold & Flu symptoms persisted.  He was able to test into Sophomore classes for his Freshman year of High School, but he wasn't better.  

His freshman year, the good grades continued, lettering in Academics and was first in his class.  But he missed the last month of school, only returning for finals as Dr's continued to search for answers.  At the end of his Freshman year is where his health became drastic.  

He was unable to stand for much of the day, pain in his side led to tests on his liver, but they revealed nothing.  He also started having Migraines and some Dr's felt was the start of neurological symptoms but with no results.  He was tested for Strep and then for Mono.  Three different Dr's told him he was fine and to just go back to school.  Occasionally a treatment would work for a short time, before he'd relapse into pain and fatigue again.  

Another Dr. thought he could address what was happening with a Six week treatment.  Which again, ended with no change.   At that point, the Dr directed having Trevor's Adrenals tested, specifically for Lyme disease, a rarity in the Western United States.  

After thousands of dollars in testing, and 9 Doctors, he was finally diagnosed after 18 months of doubt and confusion.  That didn't make the complete diagnosis of Lyme Disease, Mycoplasma Pneumonia, Herpes 6, Epstein Barre, Coxsackie Virus Group B, Cytomegalovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a cyst in his Pineal area and low immune markers, any easier to bear.  Lyme is a disease which is easier to treat the earlier it is diagnosed.  .  

This started a 9 month cycle of antibiotics, and associated treatments which did little to alleviate his suffering.  In fact he got worse, to the point where he was unable to start his Sophomore year of High School.  He developed a severe stupor, that limited his ability to remember what he'd just read, heard or even to speak in complete sentences.  He suffers from constant headaches, and has developed a form of tinnitus that plagues him and the neurological effect has been a jerk or twitch when he walks causing him to frequently stumble.  The pain in his abdomen and symptoms experienced at the very beginning still persisted through the addition of all the others.  

And finally he ended up on the ER with a  stomach bug, causing severe vomiting, diarrhea and cramping.  Thankfully a CT scan of his abdomen reflected nothing wrong with his liver.  Which is a small blessings amidst all of this.  

But as I explained at the beginning this is about Hope.  And as I'm sure you can imagine a young man, now 16, who has lived with constant pain and sickness  for over 2 years, that hope grew dim.  As so many facing chronic conditions do, Trevor grew depressed and his thoughts turned to the end.  

No parent can easily handle the idea of their child that they love in that dark of a place.  And so Eric and Carrie, knowing the standard treatments for Lyme Disease had at this point been done, for the full length of treatment to no effect.  

After exploring all the options available, including clinics on the East Coast where Lyme is more common, and specialists in the disease on the west coast as well, they found a clinic locally that offered a treatment that might offer that precious sliver of hope.  

The price to the treatment was high, but fearing for their sons life and trying to hold that hope, Eric and Carrie pressed forward.  After the first treatment, his mind clear, Trevor was finally free, even if for just an evening, of the debilitating effects of the pain, nausea, and was able to speak.  

Unfortunately as this is a non-standard treatment, insurance does not cover it.  Yet for the first time in years the Goettl's have hope.  They have applied for a grant to fund further treatments, but there is no guarantee.  They have received help from friends in the community as well as their church.  They have also appealed to Eric's employer for any additional considerations.  

Each treatment pushes their finances and comes at great hardship.  Yet after each treatment Trevor is pain free, alert and more of his old self for longer stretches at a time.  

And so we turn to GoFundMe.  While the overall expense is great, each little bit helps, with each contribution, no matter how small, hope shines for this wonderful family, just a bit more.