A Birthday Wish: Help Henry Before He Turns 2

*Goal met!!**

Hello Friends and Family!

As many of you know, our sweet little boy Henry was born in 2022 prematurely and spent several grueling weeks in the NICU – which has led to a very complicated journey. So we’ve decided to ask for your help. We didn’t come to this decision quickly, as it requires a lot of vulnerability to ask for help, but for the sake of Henry’s optimal health, we want to explore every avenue for his healing and we can’t do that alone.

Henry came early due to maternal complications (HELLP syndrome, preeclampsia, and COVID-19). During his NICU stay he received routine testing, including an MRI on his brain. The doctor said the MRI showed some irregularities, but it was overall inconclusive. We left the NICU only knowing we had to “wait and see.”

Fast forward several months: after a follow-up MRI he received a confirmation diagnosis of Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), which is a brain injury. Although this isn’t a degenerative prognosis, doctors can only theorize how this will affect Henry’s life in the long run.

We still don’t know the full extent of what we’re facing.

When Henry was around one year old, he was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). We weren’t exactly surprised because 60 to 100 percent of PVL cases receive this diagnosis as well, but we were very disappointed to be met with another “wait and see” regarding the specifics of how it will impact Henry and his future.

Henry will turn 2 in February. And he’s not yet able to sit up unattended, roll on his own, crawl, or walk. He also has nervous system disruption which causes other complications.

As you know, the first 5 years of a child’s development are crucial. So we are trying to do everything we can to help Henry create new pathways in his brain to circumvent the damaged parts.

We do weekly PT and chiropractic visits, as well as daily exercises to help strengthen his muscles and mind-body connection, but he needs more help.

During our search in ways to help him, we came across a pediatric physical therapy group in Cary, NC called All Kids are Perfect (AKAP).

They conduct intensives, which are week-long therapy sessions to assist children like Henry who need an extra helping hand. They offer 1, 2, or 3-week intensive with two one-hour sessions per day. At the end of the intensive, parents are given home exercise programs with specific exercises to help maintain and progress on the skills learned during the intensive.

But, of course, it isn’t covered by insurance. So the cost is completely out of pocket.

Originally, we were going to give up on this opportunity because of the cost. But we’ve had some incredibly kind friends ask how they can help with Henry and we realized: we’re not in this alone and it’s time to ask for that help.

A week-long intensive is $2,800. That’s our goal – we hope you’ll consider helping us in this tangible way and are thankful for your support on this journey.

We would love to meet this goal before Henry’s birthday! On faith, we’ve started the process of scheduling our intensive with AKAP (which includes giving them a deposit) as they are booking their first half of 2024 already.

As Henry’s parents, we are navigating an unknown and sometimes frightening path. Though it’s not without its rewards, taking care of Henry is often challenging and stretches us to our limits emotionally, mentally, physically, and even spiritually.

We often have to make a conscious decision to choose faith and joy over fear and anxiety. We know that the Lord works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We stand on this truth, even when we cannot see or understand “how?” or “why?”.

We are looking to the Light and believing for Good to reign victorious. God has shown us His Providence so far, and sometimes that looks like a helping hand from a friend.

Thank you so much for considering partnering with us in Henry’s healing journey! We’re thankful for all the love, support, and prayers.

Sending much love,

Rebekkah & Patrick

P.S. If you’d consider sharing this with your friends or church or small group, we would be so grateful!