Support for Andrew Xiong

Andrew is a happy baby that adores his older brothers and sister. It wasn’t long after his first birthday when his family realized something was wrong. Andrew’s belly was swollen and continued to grow. Jerry and Nalee, Andrew’s parents, took him to the hospital and found out Andrew’s liver and spleen were swollen. The doctors didn’t know what it was. They took blood for samples and lab testing. They kept taking blood. Too much blood from such a little body. But they could not figure out what Andrew had. Eventually the Xiong family was referred to the MN Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, over 90 miles away from home. Again, there were tests, so many tests. Again, they took syringe after syringe of blood from Andrew’s tiny body. After a month of testing, Andrew was finally diagnosed. Andrew has a rare genetic disorder called Niemann-Pick Disease Type A. This disease affects the body’s ability to metabolize fat cells. These fat cells will malfunction and through time, die. This disease affects the brain, nerves, liver, spleen, bone marrow and lungs. Infants with Type A show severe brain disease and some do not live past a few years. There is no cure. Treatment is focused on helping patients live with the symptoms of this disease.
 
YOU can help! You can help by providing funds to support Andrew and his family during this difficult time. They will need financial assistance in making life as comfortable for Andrew as possible, in addition to the medical bills that will continue to roll in.
 
Your contribution makes a difference! Thank you.