Support Oliver & His Family During His Treatments!

• Oliver John Northup was born at home on March 25th at a healthy 6lbs 6oz and 20” long.

History

• As many of you know, Oliver’s mother Kathy has suffered from an immune disease (ITP) which attacks its own blood and consumes platelets. This leads to high risk of traumatic bleeding and without treatment, can lead to permanent deficits or even death. Kathy has been proactive in her treatment and care since being diagnosed in 2019.

Current issue

• Shortly after Oliver was delivered, Kathy recognized symptoms she is all too familiar with as being signs of low platelets. Oliver was taken to his pediatrician where they were urged to go to Olympic Medical Center ER in Port Angeles, WA. After lab work, their worst fear was confirmed. Oliver had critically low platelets and needed action, fast. Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital NICU dispatched their NICU ambulance with a team to bring Oliver to their hospital in Tacoma, WA. He was quickly given a transfusion and a round of treatment. At first there was no improvement. As of 3/28/24 he started having improvement in his lab results.

The specialists at Mary Bridge are hopeful that after a second round of treatment, Oliver will continue to improve. However the treatment is temporary and he will need continuous maintenance in Tacoma for an unknown amount of time. It is presumed that Oliver will not have ITP as it is not hereditary nor “passed down” or spreadable. Oliver has antibodies from Kathy’s blood that just still need time to dissipate.

Moving forward

• As treatment is working for Oliver, it will take several rounds at Mary Bridge NICU over the course of possible months. Fortunately, the new family will be able to go home once stable and then monitor weekly and come back for treatment as needed (weekly or biweekly). The treatment is roughly 5 hours long and 4 hours round trip of transport. Our goal is to raise enough money to cover the costs of transportation and food for Mom and Dad on these trips, and we will update this fundraiser as we receive more information about the duration of these treatments, going forward.

Thank you for your generosity and your support of the Northup family and Baby Oliver!