Help Holden and His Family Through His Treatment

Hi. Holden is a sweet, smart, funny 7-year-old that just wants to be home with his family and friends doing regular little boy things. Holden's mother, Robin, is my dear friend. She is strong, passionate, dedicated, funny, and is always working to help others. Robin and Holden deserve all the good in the world, but they have been thrown a curve ball, proving that bad things sometimes happen to the most amazing people.

On February 10, Holden was admitted to Connecticut Children's Medical Center for an unspecified autoimmune response that was causing Holden to bruise easily and significantly. In the weeks since then, Holden has been receiving testing and care at both CCMC and Boston Children's Hospital for the past month. Robin and Holden's dad, Jay, have had to take time off of work and the family has had to travel to both CCMC and BCH for testing, treatments, and consultations. This has created financial hardship for the family, and this is just the beginning of the road for Holden. He has recently been diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia, a rare and serious condition where the body stops producing enough new blood cells, resulting in fatigue, low resistance to infection, and uncontrolled bleeding. Holden is in bone marrow failure. His bone marrow is currently functioning at 5%. He is just at the very beginning of months of immunosuppression therapies. If those therapies do not work, Holden may require a bone marrow transplant in the future.

In typical form, Holden and his family are handling the stress with grace and smiles, but this is tough for them. Robin and Jay are balancing work, home, care for Holden's little sister, medical appointments, and hospital stays. Holden's sister, Penny, loves her brother and misses him when he is away getting treatment. So I am asking for some help on their behalf.

The funds raised here will go towards transportation to and from both Boston Children's Hospital and Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford from their home in Canterbury, CT, food and lodging while away from home, treatments not covered by insurance, as well as any unforeseen costs in the coming long months of treatment.

I am surrounded by the most amazing, compassionate, and generous friends. Robin is loved by everyone who meets her. Holden is the sweetest little boy (and fun friend to my son). Let's support this amazing family and help them through this challenging time that will hopefully be in their past soon!

Thank you in advance for your donation!