Calahs Faith Walk
Donation protected
Calah was born on June 27, 2011 perfectly happy and healthy. Her first year was full of excitement as she met all of her first milestones: rolling, sitting, crawling, pulling to stand and walking with a walker. Just as she was ready to take her first independent steps, she became very ill.
For 12 weeks, she was in and out of the doctor’s office and urgent care with a fever that wouldn’t quit and some very common viral symptoms. As the weeks went on, she didn’t recover. Instead, she became more lethargic, wouldn’t eat, and finally became so weak, she couldn’t hold her head up. At least 5 misdiagnoses and 5 rounds of antibiotics later, Calah’s parents begged the doctors to do something, so they drew blood. Nothing was found. A new doctor was seen, and a very comprehensive blood draw revealed Epstein Barr (Mono) virus.
A clinical diagnosis of Mono Encephalitis was made, due to her global regression of all her previously met milestones.
Today, she deals with spasticity of the legs, a weak left arm and slow speech. Miraculously, her brain injury did not affect her cognitively. She has gone through ongoing physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy for the past 3 years and is continuing to improve. She can now walk with a walker, and with lots of hard work, does her best to keep up with her peers at school.
However, to be able to manage the physical demands of kindergarten and life in general, she needs more intensive therapy. We have seen the positive effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Suit Therapy, and we believe this is what Calah needs to gain the independence she so desperately needs.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy will consist of 1 hour sessions 5 days per week for 8 weeks, and Suit (Physical) Therapy consists of 3 hour sessions 5 days per week for 4 weeks. All of this will be done in a treatment facility approximately 4 hours (roundtrip) from home. Insurance will not cover any of this treatment and will cost $13,500. Travel expenses and 1 night of lodging per week will cost an estimated $4,000, putting our goal at $17,500.
Calah’s greatest desire is to teach her baby sister how to walk, and to run and play with her friends without assistance. Calah is a miracle in the making! She works hard in physical therapy, even through sickness and exhaustion. Our motto is: “Work like it depends on us, and pray like it depends on Jesus”.
Please join us in our journey to healing and 100% recovery. Help us raise the funds needed for this treatment. We have drained resources and funds by trying other methods of treatment that have not worked, such as braces, walkers, etc. We believe in faith that this will promote healing rather than just manage the symptoms of her brain injury. Thank you for your support!
#CalahsFaithWalk
Organizer and beneficiary
Richard Fairfield
Organizer
Waterford, MI
Michael Blevons
Beneficiary
