Wheelchair accessible van for Manzo
Donation protected
I am creating this go fund me page for the family of Manzo Faust-Knight. What he and his family have had to endure these last few months is absolutely heartbreaking, and now they are in desperate need of funds to purchase a wheelchair accessible van. I ask that you PLEASE take the time to read Manzo’s story and consider helping in any way that you can.
Manzo is an 11 yr. old boy who, up until a few months ago, was enjoying his 5th grade school year and planning to go to Middle School this fall. He is a typical boy who loves video games, watching WWE, the Green Bay Packers and enjoyed playing football at recess with his friends. He is the sweetest, politest little guy with an infectious smile that can light up a room. He also has a very caring and generous heart; he often gave away prizes or treats he had earned to others. Everyone who meets Manzo adores him. What most people didn’t realize was that he was often battling pain and illness due to sickle cell anemia. He was amazingly tough hiding his sickness and rarely spoke of it. It is a heavy cross to bear for such a precious little boy but he did it with grace.
Because of the sickle cell, Manzo ended up missing a good bit of school which negatively affected his ability to learn. Also, he would have mini-strokes which impacted his ability to retain the things he had already learned. Considering this, he was doing pretty well, even managing to do grade level math. While he did not enjoy writing very much, on January 6th of this year, Manzo was given the assignment to write about what his “perfect day” would be like. He did a great job with this assignment as he knew exactly what that day would be for him. Manzo wrote that his perfect day would be to sleep in late, eat macaroni and cheese all day and play Minecraft. That writing is still hanging on the wall of his classroom.
The week after Manzo wrote about his perfect day, he was having an especially bad day, complaining of headaches and was clearly in a significant amount of pain. He was taken to Sinai hospital where doctors determined he was in sickle cell crisis. While there, he was suffering from a dangerously high fever, had a stroke, several seizures and eventually fell into a coma. One week after his initial arrival at Sinai and still in a coma, he was transferred to Johns Hopkins. Doctors put in a trach for safety during transport, but when they tried to remove it, he went into distress and had to be put on a ventilator. He remained in a coma for approximately 5 weeks. During that time, procedures were performed to decrease the swelling in his brain however MRI results appeared to show that the fever, stroke and seizures had caused significant damage to his brain.
While Manzo was lying in a coma, his teachers and classmates recorded themselves reading books to him. These recordings were played to him in his hospital room with the hopes that he could hear them and maybe give a response. Even the nurses couldn’t hold back their tears while hearing these recordings and witnessing the outpouring of love and support for Manzo. At school, his teachers and classmates wore “TeamManzo” shirts and wristbands in his favorite color, green. The 5th grade girls’ jewelry club made earrings and sold them as a fundraiser. School staff members organized a meal train for teachers, parents, family and friends to take dinners to the home. While Manzo’s mother never left his side, there were still other family members at home that needed cared for.
The Knights are a large, close knit Christian family. Manzo, his two sisters and their single mother live with his grandmother Mrs. Knight. Besides Manzo’s mother, Mrs. Knight also has 2 other grown daughters and another granddaughter that live in the home. Like her grandson Manzo, Mrs. Knight has an amazingly loving heart. She also has 1 foster child and 6 adopted children ranging in age from toddler to young adults. She is the head of a very large family and is an extremely strong and inspirational woman. Through this entire ordeal the family have been so gracious and appreciative for all the support while they have asked for nothing but prayer.
After over 5 weeks of diligent prayer, Manzo came out of his coma. In early March, he was transferred to the brain injury unit at Kennedy Krieger Institute to begin rehab. During his time at Kennedy Krieger, his rehab was hampered by his body clock having days and nights reversed. He has shown the most response when therapy dogs were brought in to visit him, relaxing his arm when someone helps him hand over hand to pet the dog. This was not a surprise as Manzo has always liked animals.
Sadly, the perfect storm of fever, strokes and seizures caused extensive damage to his brain and at this time, Manzo is considered a nonverbal quadriplegic requiring full time care. Doctors have determined he can hear, but the status of his vision is still unclear as the lack of communication makes testing difficult. In addition, doctors recently found an aneurysm in his wrist and had to be rushed back to Hopkins for surgery but was soon returned to Kennedy Krieger. Doctors were able to remove the trach this week, but he will have to remain on a feeding tube for the foreseeable future.
Kennedy Krieger has decided that Manzo is now medically stable and plan to discharge him very soon. While the family is happy to bring him home, it is sooner than they anticipated, and are struggling to prepare for his homecoming. Insurance will pay for his custom wheelchair and hospital bed but there are so many more obstacles they have to face now that Manzo is wheelchair dependent. They have to get a ramp for the house, need a bedroom and full bathroom on the first floor, and need to get a wheelchair accessible van right away which is going to be a huge expense that they understandably cannot afford. Other items he’s going to require are specialized toys that help stimulate the damaged parts of his brain as well as technology to help him communicate. We are all very anxious to help him find a way to communicate.
Just a few months ago Manzo was laughing, playing and writing. We may not be able to give him his “perfect day” right now, but we can help him by supporting his family and helping to relieve their financial burdens. He has a long road of recovery ahead of him but he is a fighter and he has surprised the medical professionals multiple times already. So we will continue to hope, pray and fight for him. Please join #TeamManzo in prayer and consider making a donation to help get the van they so desperately need.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 5:9
Manzo is an 11 yr. old boy who, up until a few months ago, was enjoying his 5th grade school year and planning to go to Middle School this fall. He is a typical boy who loves video games, watching WWE, the Green Bay Packers and enjoyed playing football at recess with his friends. He is the sweetest, politest little guy with an infectious smile that can light up a room. He also has a very caring and generous heart; he often gave away prizes or treats he had earned to others. Everyone who meets Manzo adores him. What most people didn’t realize was that he was often battling pain and illness due to sickle cell anemia. He was amazingly tough hiding his sickness and rarely spoke of it. It is a heavy cross to bear for such a precious little boy but he did it with grace.
Because of the sickle cell, Manzo ended up missing a good bit of school which negatively affected his ability to learn. Also, he would have mini-strokes which impacted his ability to retain the things he had already learned. Considering this, he was doing pretty well, even managing to do grade level math. While he did not enjoy writing very much, on January 6th of this year, Manzo was given the assignment to write about what his “perfect day” would be like. He did a great job with this assignment as he knew exactly what that day would be for him. Manzo wrote that his perfect day would be to sleep in late, eat macaroni and cheese all day and play Minecraft. That writing is still hanging on the wall of his classroom.
The week after Manzo wrote about his perfect day, he was having an especially bad day, complaining of headaches and was clearly in a significant amount of pain. He was taken to Sinai hospital where doctors determined he was in sickle cell crisis. While there, he was suffering from a dangerously high fever, had a stroke, several seizures and eventually fell into a coma. One week after his initial arrival at Sinai and still in a coma, he was transferred to Johns Hopkins. Doctors put in a trach for safety during transport, but when they tried to remove it, he went into distress and had to be put on a ventilator. He remained in a coma for approximately 5 weeks. During that time, procedures were performed to decrease the swelling in his brain however MRI results appeared to show that the fever, stroke and seizures had caused significant damage to his brain.
While Manzo was lying in a coma, his teachers and classmates recorded themselves reading books to him. These recordings were played to him in his hospital room with the hopes that he could hear them and maybe give a response. Even the nurses couldn’t hold back their tears while hearing these recordings and witnessing the outpouring of love and support for Manzo. At school, his teachers and classmates wore “TeamManzo” shirts and wristbands in his favorite color, green. The 5th grade girls’ jewelry club made earrings and sold them as a fundraiser. School staff members organized a meal train for teachers, parents, family and friends to take dinners to the home. While Manzo’s mother never left his side, there were still other family members at home that needed cared for.
The Knights are a large, close knit Christian family. Manzo, his two sisters and their single mother live with his grandmother Mrs. Knight. Besides Manzo’s mother, Mrs. Knight also has 2 other grown daughters and another granddaughter that live in the home. Like her grandson Manzo, Mrs. Knight has an amazingly loving heart. She also has 1 foster child and 6 adopted children ranging in age from toddler to young adults. She is the head of a very large family and is an extremely strong and inspirational woman. Through this entire ordeal the family have been so gracious and appreciative for all the support while they have asked for nothing but prayer.
After over 5 weeks of diligent prayer, Manzo came out of his coma. In early March, he was transferred to the brain injury unit at Kennedy Krieger Institute to begin rehab. During his time at Kennedy Krieger, his rehab was hampered by his body clock having days and nights reversed. He has shown the most response when therapy dogs were brought in to visit him, relaxing his arm when someone helps him hand over hand to pet the dog. This was not a surprise as Manzo has always liked animals.
Sadly, the perfect storm of fever, strokes and seizures caused extensive damage to his brain and at this time, Manzo is considered a nonverbal quadriplegic requiring full time care. Doctors have determined he can hear, but the status of his vision is still unclear as the lack of communication makes testing difficult. In addition, doctors recently found an aneurysm in his wrist and had to be rushed back to Hopkins for surgery but was soon returned to Kennedy Krieger. Doctors were able to remove the trach this week, but he will have to remain on a feeding tube for the foreseeable future.
Kennedy Krieger has decided that Manzo is now medically stable and plan to discharge him very soon. While the family is happy to bring him home, it is sooner than they anticipated, and are struggling to prepare for his homecoming. Insurance will pay for his custom wheelchair and hospital bed but there are so many more obstacles they have to face now that Manzo is wheelchair dependent. They have to get a ramp for the house, need a bedroom and full bathroom on the first floor, and need to get a wheelchair accessible van right away which is going to be a huge expense that they understandably cannot afford. Other items he’s going to require are specialized toys that help stimulate the damaged parts of his brain as well as technology to help him communicate. We are all very anxious to help him find a way to communicate.
Just a few months ago Manzo was laughing, playing and writing. We may not be able to give him his “perfect day” right now, but we can help him by supporting his family and helping to relieve their financial burdens. He has a long road of recovery ahead of him but he is a fighter and he has surprised the medical professionals multiple times already. So we will continue to hope, pray and fight for him. Please join #TeamManzo in prayer and consider making a donation to help get the van they so desperately need.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 5:9
Organizer and beneficiary
Team Manzo
Organizer
Eldersburg, MD
Barbara Knight
Beneficiary
