Baylor’s Medical Journey

My name is Bethany McElroy and I am setting up this fundraiser for my nephew, Baylor.

Baylor will be turning 2 years old January 2022. He has been a blessing to our whole family. His parents, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tyler and Brittany, are such amazing parents and are always doing whatever they can to take care of their son in every way possible. They work so hard and they deserve every ounce of help, love, and support that y’all are willing to give ❤️.

Brittany and Tyler both work full-time. Tyler is LEO and is always working. They have health insurance, but because of our broken healthcare system, they do not qualify for a lot of assistance for Baylor’s medical expenses and care. I’m hoping that this fundraiser can help them with their constant accumulation of medical debt. Baylor is almost 2 years old, but developmentally he is at 6-9 months of age.

Here is Baylor’s story…

Baylor made his way into this world on January 24th, 2020. His delivery was a very traumatic experience for him as well as his mommy, my sister-in-law, Brittany.

At birth, Baylor had shoulder dystocia, brain bleeds, and a hypoxic ischemic event. He was sedated and intubated, and had to be cooled in the NICU in order for his fragile little body to slowly heal from the trauma. Since being discharged from the NICU, he has been followed by neurosurgery, neurology, ophthalmology, audiology, ENT, cardiology, developmental clinic, feeding clinic, genetics, and electrophysiology. After extensive testing, they are still unsure of what all is going on with him. However, as of now, he has been officially diagnosed with Ocular Albinism, HIE, global developmental delays, low tone, and ventriculomegaly. Baylor has also developed one cyst in his brain and another cyst between the nasopharynx and oral pharynx (these of which they are waiting on possible surgery needs). They are waiting on more time and testing for definitive answers on hearing loss as well. Baylor is receiving physical therapy, occupational therapy, vision therapy, and feeding therapy weekly. At almost 2 years old, Baylor is unable to crawl, stand, walk, feed himself (he only eats purées), talk, and limits his arm movements. He is currently being evaluated for speech therapy. Baylor has been getting MRIs every three months to track the fluid in his brain to see if surgery is necessary. With Baylor’s last MRI and the development of a new cyst, his neurosurgeon is worried that they are missing something and wants to admit Baylor in the pediatric ICU in Chapel Hill for brain monitoring. Baylor’s procedure will be on 12/21/21. Depending on the results from the monitoring, they may go ahead and put a shunt in.

I know Tyler, Brittany, and little Baylor would be very grateful for any contribution, and even a prayer would be very much appreciated. Baylor has a long road ahead of him. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!