Help Emanuel Wardenaar run again!
Donation protected
Hi Everyone! Chris and I have been long time friends of Gloria and Peter Wardenaar. They are just great people with great hearts! They moved to Colombia in 2010, but I’m thankful that through technology we’ve can share life virtually!
Today, we want to reach out on behalf of their 11-year-old son, Emanuel Wardenaar. I have a 10-year-old son and so my heart goes out to him and I hope yours will too.
Here is their story:
Emanuel is a tenderhearted, fun-loving, very active and an intelligent kid. There is nothing he’d rather do then kick a ball around for hours with his friends, without taking a single break.
Emanuel was born nearly two months premature, reasonably healthy, but Peter and Gloria were made aware that premature born babies are often prone to developmental and health related problems. He has always suffered from digestive issues, including several hernias and reflux as well as respiratory problems. But he's been strong enough to push through that.
However, here is what’s going on now:
“Emanuel has always been an extremely active boy and from a very young age developed a love for playing soccer. He often was the top scorer of his team and has won several trophies. However, we noticed that when he was playing he often fell for no apparent reason. This got worse over time and he started to complain about pain in his feet and ankles. We decided to take him to a pediatric orthopedist who diagnosed him with tarsal coalitions and misalignment of his hind foot (heel).
Tarsal coalitions are the fusing of several bones in your feet. Emanuel had this condition in both his feet, which severely limited the movement and flexibility. This caused him a lot of pain and difficulty to perform any activity for long periods of time as well as caused him to be unstable and fall unpredictably. Eventually he couldn’t play soccer anymore.
On October 26, 2017, Emanuel, at the age of 9, had a surgery (resection of tarsal coalitions and calcaneal realignment osteotomy) on both his feet, which put him in casts and a wheelchair for about 2 months. After several months of intense physical therapy it seemed things were looking up. He even joined a local soccer team and really enjoyed playing again.
Nevertheless, we noticed a change in his gait (walk) quite soon after he was able to walk again, but thought that overtime that would get better. It didn’t. Emanuel started to complain again about pain and exhaustion after being on his feet for a while, and things were worse after intense physical activities, like soccer.
The doctor decided to do an MRI and X-rays, which unfortunately showed the same types of coalitions again, but now of different bones, which is extremely rare. It also showed that his heel bones were significantly shorter than they should be, as well as that they were not growing at the right angle, which is causing a deformity on both his feet. The conclusion was clear: Emanuel needed to have another more invasive surgery and soon. This was quite the setback for Emanuel and us.
Maybe soccer won't be a sport that he will be able to play again, and we are okay with that. But Emanuel is now struggling with walking, standing on his feet and light running. We just want him to be able to play with his friends and not be in so much pain and discomfort.”
Together we can…
Emanuel’s upcoming surgery includes, again, a resection of his tarsal bones; correcting the deformity in his heel bone by putting a graft from his hip in the heel bone; and lengthening his Achilles tendon. All of this means a recuperation time of up to 12 months or more.
The Wardenaar family primarily seeks your prayers for Emanuel’s healing but they also need your financial support during this difficult time because their insurance has decided that, because Emanuel has flat feet, this is a congenital condition and therefore is not fully covered.
They currently live on a 4th floor, 700 sq. ft. (65 m2), apartment, without an elevator and no wheelchair access. Therefore, they need to rent a more accessible home for the family as Emanuel continues to recuperate after surgery. However, this is not within their current financial means. As a family they have done what they can to make ends meet, and right now that is not enough.
We have started this GoFundMe account to ease the financial burden on Peter and Gloria as Emanuel undergoes surgery, countless medical appointments, hospital stays, medication, months ahead of physical therapy, the cost of a wheelchair and the many other related medical expenses.
The surgery is planned for late July and all funds collected will go directly to Emanuel’s family to help cover the medical costs.
We are thankful for your prayers and support and ask that you help us share this GoFundMe campaign on your social media so that we can reach the many people that want to help Emanuel.
The Pedraza family on behalf of the Wardenaar Family (Peter, Gloria, Emanuel, Paloma and Violet)
Today, we want to reach out on behalf of their 11-year-old son, Emanuel Wardenaar. I have a 10-year-old son and so my heart goes out to him and I hope yours will too.
Here is their story:
Emanuel is a tenderhearted, fun-loving, very active and an intelligent kid. There is nothing he’d rather do then kick a ball around for hours with his friends, without taking a single break.
Emanuel was born nearly two months premature, reasonably healthy, but Peter and Gloria were made aware that premature born babies are often prone to developmental and health related problems. He has always suffered from digestive issues, including several hernias and reflux as well as respiratory problems. But he's been strong enough to push through that.
However, here is what’s going on now:
“Emanuel has always been an extremely active boy and from a very young age developed a love for playing soccer. He often was the top scorer of his team and has won several trophies. However, we noticed that when he was playing he often fell for no apparent reason. This got worse over time and he started to complain about pain in his feet and ankles. We decided to take him to a pediatric orthopedist who diagnosed him with tarsal coalitions and misalignment of his hind foot (heel).
Tarsal coalitions are the fusing of several bones in your feet. Emanuel had this condition in both his feet, which severely limited the movement and flexibility. This caused him a lot of pain and difficulty to perform any activity for long periods of time as well as caused him to be unstable and fall unpredictably. Eventually he couldn’t play soccer anymore.
On October 26, 2017, Emanuel, at the age of 9, had a surgery (resection of tarsal coalitions and calcaneal realignment osteotomy) on both his feet, which put him in casts and a wheelchair for about 2 months. After several months of intense physical therapy it seemed things were looking up. He even joined a local soccer team and really enjoyed playing again.
Nevertheless, we noticed a change in his gait (walk) quite soon after he was able to walk again, but thought that overtime that would get better. It didn’t. Emanuel started to complain again about pain and exhaustion after being on his feet for a while, and things were worse after intense physical activities, like soccer.
The doctor decided to do an MRI and X-rays, which unfortunately showed the same types of coalitions again, but now of different bones, which is extremely rare. It also showed that his heel bones were significantly shorter than they should be, as well as that they were not growing at the right angle, which is causing a deformity on both his feet. The conclusion was clear: Emanuel needed to have another more invasive surgery and soon. This was quite the setback for Emanuel and us.
Maybe soccer won't be a sport that he will be able to play again, and we are okay with that. But Emanuel is now struggling with walking, standing on his feet and light running. We just want him to be able to play with his friends and not be in so much pain and discomfort.”
Together we can…
Emanuel’s upcoming surgery includes, again, a resection of his tarsal bones; correcting the deformity in his heel bone by putting a graft from his hip in the heel bone; and lengthening his Achilles tendon. All of this means a recuperation time of up to 12 months or more.
The Wardenaar family primarily seeks your prayers for Emanuel’s healing but they also need your financial support during this difficult time because their insurance has decided that, because Emanuel has flat feet, this is a congenital condition and therefore is not fully covered.
They currently live on a 4th floor, 700 sq. ft. (65 m2), apartment, without an elevator and no wheelchair access. Therefore, they need to rent a more accessible home for the family as Emanuel continues to recuperate after surgery. However, this is not within their current financial means. As a family they have done what they can to make ends meet, and right now that is not enough.
We have started this GoFundMe account to ease the financial burden on Peter and Gloria as Emanuel undergoes surgery, countless medical appointments, hospital stays, medication, months ahead of physical therapy, the cost of a wheelchair and the many other related medical expenses.
The surgery is planned for late July and all funds collected will go directly to Emanuel’s family to help cover the medical costs.
We are thankful for your prayers and support and ask that you help us share this GoFundMe campaign on your social media so that we can reach the many people that want to help Emanuel.
The Pedraza family on behalf of the Wardenaar Family (Peter, Gloria, Emanuel, Paloma and Violet)
Organizer
Chris Y Daisy Pedraza
Organizer
Beaverton, OR