Jeremiah's Hospitalization Journey

Hi, my name is Erika and I have three amazing children (Justice - 11, Jeremiah - 10, and Micah - 8) who I support as a self-employed housekeeper. I'm setting up this fundraiser with the hopes of raising money to help offset the medical expenses that I am facing as a result of my son's recent (and continued) hospitalization and life-changing diagnosis. My middle son, Jeremiah (10 years old), was recently hospitalized and diagnosed with a rare malformation of the thoracic lymphatic ducts. We discovered his condition after he was having difficulty breathing because his lung cavities were filled with fluids. He has been in the hospital since December 29, 2022, hooked up to chest tubes that are continually draining the fluid from his lung cavities, as the doctors are working hard to determine how to stop his body from creating this fluid.

For those of you who don't know Jeremiah, he is a sweet, goofy (sometimes sarcastic), and loving kid. Before his hospitalization, he loved to ride his bike, play sports, and watch funny videos on TikTok. As the middle child, he has always been very caring and thoughtful. This all began right after he had just finished his first semester of fifth grade, where he had just taken his first video game coding class and coded his own game. At the start of his winter break, he was starting to feel ill with what we thought were flu-like symptoms. In fact, the entire family fell ill during the kids' winter break. However, my other two kids and I improved while Jeremiah continued to get worse. Right before Christmas, I took Jeremiah to the doctor because he was having trouble breathing. He was diagnosed with bronchitis and given antibiotics. He continued to get worse to the point where he could not lie down flat. On December 29th, I had to find childcare for my other two children and take Jeremiah to the emergency room. The doctors took x-rays of his lungs, which were now almost completely filled with fluid. They took him by ambulance to the hospital.

By the time Jeremiah was admitted to the hospital, he was barely able to breathe and they put him on oxygen. He quickly underwent a procedure to insert bilateral chest tubes to drain the fluid from his lungs. We hoped that once the fluid was drained, the problem would be solved, but to everyone's surprise, his body continued to produce the fluid. This was when we realized how serious his illness was. The doctors continued to run tests to try to figure out the problem. When his blood tests came back showing high triglycerides, the doctors began to piece together a diagnosis. He has a rare genetic condition - a malformation of the thoracic lymphatic ducts. The doctors have never seen this in a healthy boy his age. As a result, Jeremiah's lymphatic system was not filtering fats as it is supposed to. He then underwent a 5-hour angiogram where the doctors were able to embolize the ducts that were dilated, hoping it would fix the problem. Unfortunately, he is still producing these fluids. Because his body isn't able to process fats, he has not been able to eat since December 31. The doctors placed a TPN (total parental nutrition) line for feeding to give his lymphatic system a break to heal. We don't know when he will be able to eat again.

The doctors are continuing to work to find a reason for the fluid production and figure out what Jeremiah's new life will look like. That could include gene therapy, a strict diet, and hopefully not being on tubes for the rest of his life.

As a mother, this has been the most challenging thing I have ever faced. Hearing my son tell me that he just wants to be able to stand up, eat something, and get back to his previous life is heartbreaking. I want my silly, sarcastic, healthy son back. I am self-employed as a housekeeper so as I continue to support my son in the hospital, I am unable to earn any money. I am grateful for the amazing doctors, nurses, and staff who have helped and continue to help my son during this time. Thank you for reading my story and please know that any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

100% of any money raised will be used to cover medical expenses and rehabilitation for my son Jeremiah.