Brandon Rude's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Everyone who knows Brandon loves him. He's one of the sweetest, most generous kids I know and the past few months breaks my heart. He still has a ways to go with 2 surgeries yet to be scheduled over the next few months. Brandon is such a trooper and his attitude with everything has been amazing!
For those of you who have been following his story, his medical bills are now around $500,000 and around $20,000 is our portion of that.
I was putting off doing "Go Fund Me", but yesterday Brandon had another allergic reaction to something from his ostmy bag, my husband cracked his tooth, I tracked down a funny smell to a leak under the kitchen sink, we got a disconnect notice for our water, I was told the tires on my van have to be replaced before they blow, and our pest guy informed us we have termites! I'm waving the white flag and giving in. We can't do this alone.
The HERO Initative has been a huge help over the past few months and we couldn't have gotten this far without them. Big shout out to them for helping creators in need.
For those of you who don't know his story:
BRANDON'S STORY...
In August Brandon landed in the ER with cryptosporidium, a parasite found in recreational water that attacks the immune system. At nearly 6' tall he weighed only 99 pounds.
After treating the crypto didn't work, we found out he also had Ulcerative Colitis. A nasty IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) that was attacking his digestive track. It caused weight loss, malnutrition, and bloody stool which caused severe anemia.
Brandon was initially treated with an expensive infusion medication and blood transfusions that initially worked and all his symptoms were going away. We thought he would simply be benched for the swim season, but 2 weeks later he was back in the ER and over the next few months he spent more time in than out of the hospital. Between visits he was tired and never felt well. The last time he went in the doctors were out of medications and the doctors were concerned his IBD infection was so bad he would go septic and infect his blood, so we opted for a colostomy surgery. The actual surgery went well, but he wasn't recovering so 4 days later he was back in surgery where they found fluids and gas had built up. Once that was cleared he was back on the mend and 2 weeks later was released.
Brandon is now recooping at home trying to figure out his ostmy bag. He will need 2 more surgeries over the next few months, but the good news is the ostmy bag is temporary.
Because he basically missed the entire semester of school Brandon is trying to catch up at home with the help of a tutor who comes 4-5 hours per week. His mom (that's me!) takes over the rest of the time, and next semester he will take online classes picked out by his school so he can start his senior year with no credits to make up. He goes into school once a day for his elective - drama, and is on the Robotics team after school.
HOW FUNDS WILL BE USED
Funds will be used to help pay medical and household expenses and allow me (mom) to take time away to oversee Brandon's home schooling and medical care, and help bring the business back up to speed.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, PRAYERS, AND SUPPORT!
You can also help by purchasing items from our online store:
www.SteveRude.com
For those of you who have been following his story, his medical bills are now around $500,000 and around $20,000 is our portion of that.
I was putting off doing "Go Fund Me", but yesterday Brandon had another allergic reaction to something from his ostmy bag, my husband cracked his tooth, I tracked down a funny smell to a leak under the kitchen sink, we got a disconnect notice for our water, I was told the tires on my van have to be replaced before they blow, and our pest guy informed us we have termites! I'm waving the white flag and giving in. We can't do this alone.
The HERO Initative has been a huge help over the past few months and we couldn't have gotten this far without them. Big shout out to them for helping creators in need.
For those of you who don't know his story:
BRANDON'S STORY...
In August Brandon landed in the ER with cryptosporidium, a parasite found in recreational water that attacks the immune system. At nearly 6' tall he weighed only 99 pounds.
After treating the crypto didn't work, we found out he also had Ulcerative Colitis. A nasty IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) that was attacking his digestive track. It caused weight loss, malnutrition, and bloody stool which caused severe anemia.
Brandon was initially treated with an expensive infusion medication and blood transfusions that initially worked and all his symptoms were going away. We thought he would simply be benched for the swim season, but 2 weeks later he was back in the ER and over the next few months he spent more time in than out of the hospital. Between visits he was tired and never felt well. The last time he went in the doctors were out of medications and the doctors were concerned his IBD infection was so bad he would go septic and infect his blood, so we opted for a colostomy surgery. The actual surgery went well, but he wasn't recovering so 4 days later he was back in surgery where they found fluids and gas had built up. Once that was cleared he was back on the mend and 2 weeks later was released.
Brandon is now recooping at home trying to figure out his ostmy bag. He will need 2 more surgeries over the next few months, but the good news is the ostmy bag is temporary.
Because he basically missed the entire semester of school Brandon is trying to catch up at home with the help of a tutor who comes 4-5 hours per week. His mom (that's me!) takes over the rest of the time, and next semester he will take online classes picked out by his school so he can start his senior year with no credits to make up. He goes into school once a day for his elective - drama, and is on the Robotics team after school.
HOW FUNDS WILL BE USED
Funds will be used to help pay medical and household expenses and allow me (mom) to take time away to oversee Brandon's home schooling and medical care, and help bring the business back up to speed.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, PRAYERS, AND SUPPORT!
You can also help by purchasing items from our online store:
www.SteveRude.com
Organizer
Jaynelle Phillips Rude
Organizer
Litchfield Park, AZ