Journey with James Michael
Donation protected
Thank you everyone for your generous donations towards our journey with James Michael! We look forward to James' surgery on October 31st. Please subscribe to our blog at journeywithjamesmichael.com for updates on his progress. Thank you so much for your support!
The next phase:
We have met our goal of $140, 000 in just over 4 months! Wow! We are incredibly grateful and amazed by our community both locally and abroad that have contributed to this total. Thank you so much everyone! So, where does this leave us now? We want to update you all about that. The projected costs we shared below include the funds needed to cover James' surgery, pre-surgery physiotherapy for a year and post-surgery therapy for a year. As we look into the future, there certainly will be other costs that we can foresee - the big one being regular physiotherapy for years to come. Beyond the intensive year of post-SDR therapy, James will require regular physiotherapy to maintain his mobility including Conductive Education at the March of Dimes, SMILE therapy for kids in Vaughan, osteopathy in Whitby, and horseback riding at WindReach Farms to name a few. We also know there will be equipment costs in our future beyond the one year timeframe we've budgeted for in the breakdown we shared. For this reason, we are going to continue with our fundraising events we have already planned for the fall. We want to celebrate all that we've accomplished as a community to raise for James and to look beyond to his future needs in the years to come. If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to talk to Mike or I.
Meet James!
Photo Credit: Rebecca Fortin
James is our two and half year old - a happy, spirited, and loveable boy who has Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. He was diagnosed when he was 13 months old after being born 3 months premature and delayed in major developmental milestones. He is a level 4 (out of a 5 level gross motor classification system) and as such, has limited mobility. He has a hard time sitting for a long period of time without falling over and cannot get into a seated position on his own. He can army crawl (on his stomach) but cannot four-point crawl at this point. He needs assistance with all standing positions and because of the high level of spasticity (tightness), his legs scissor a lot making walking movements hard when he uses a walker.
We are so excited that James has been accepted for SDR (selective dorsal rhizotomy) surgery. The surgery results in a significant reduction in spasticity which will have a huge impact on James' mobility and quality of life. SDR is performed at St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, USA by an internationally renowned neurosurgeon Dr. T.S. Park . Dr. Park predicts that James' spasticity will be permanently reduced, his sitting and standing postures will improve, his transitions between postures will be easier and faster, his balance and level of comfort will improve and he'll be able to walk using a walker. Crutch walking is possible. These predictions bring us great joy and excitement for James' future!
James is a very hard worker and responds well to a busy therapy schedule. He currently goes to Conductive Education at March of Dimes, horse back riding at Windreach Farms, and physiotherapy at SMILE therapy and Grandview Children's Centre, as well as swimming. We are confident James will respond well to intensive rehabilitation following his scheduled SDR surgery. The surgery is currently scheduled in 2020 but we are on the cancellation list which provides as little as 6 weeks notice should an earlier date become available (which we are hoping for).
Why we need your help:
We're trying to raise funds to help pay for: the surgery, equipment and braces for the home, physiotherapy both before and after the surgery, accommodation in St. Louis, travel costs and other costs associated with James' journey. Total costs are over $140,000.
How you can help:
1) Share James' journey
2) Contribute funds
a) Donate to James' GoFundMe page
b) E-transfer to [email redacted] for those who prefer to avoid credit card or other fees. Cash or cheques will absolutely be accepted too (will be added as an offline donation on GoFundMe)
c) If you wish to have a tax receipt, you can choose to donate to James through Handi-Care International (HCI). Reg. Charity Number: #BN 889046397RR0001. Donations will be added as an offline donation on GoFundMe.
To donate through HCI please click here. Be sure to clearly indicate your donation is to be given to James Wilson. For more information on HCI donations click here. HCI will cap the donation receipt at $10,000 per year (a couple can be eligible for $20,000 per year). There are no limits to corporate donations.
3) Donate an item. We are planning some fundraising events. If you have an item you wish to donate to be used in our fundraising initiatives, please contact [email redacted]
We so appreciate your help in our journey with James Michael. Please subscribe and follow along on our blog: www.journeywithjamesmichael.com
Photo Credit: Rebecca Fortin
Thank you for your support!
Love,
Michael, Alison, James and Shae
The next phase:
We have met our goal of $140, 000 in just over 4 months! Wow! We are incredibly grateful and amazed by our community both locally and abroad that have contributed to this total. Thank you so much everyone! So, where does this leave us now? We want to update you all about that. The projected costs we shared below include the funds needed to cover James' surgery, pre-surgery physiotherapy for a year and post-surgery therapy for a year. As we look into the future, there certainly will be other costs that we can foresee - the big one being regular physiotherapy for years to come. Beyond the intensive year of post-SDR therapy, James will require regular physiotherapy to maintain his mobility including Conductive Education at the March of Dimes, SMILE therapy for kids in Vaughan, osteopathy in Whitby, and horseback riding at WindReach Farms to name a few. We also know there will be equipment costs in our future beyond the one year timeframe we've budgeted for in the breakdown we shared. For this reason, we are going to continue with our fundraising events we have already planned for the fall. We want to celebrate all that we've accomplished as a community to raise for James and to look beyond to his future needs in the years to come. If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to talk to Mike or I.
Meet James!
Photo Credit: Rebecca FortinJames is our two and half year old - a happy, spirited, and loveable boy who has Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. He was diagnosed when he was 13 months old after being born 3 months premature and delayed in major developmental milestones. He is a level 4 (out of a 5 level gross motor classification system) and as such, has limited mobility. He has a hard time sitting for a long period of time without falling over and cannot get into a seated position on his own. He can army crawl (on his stomach) but cannot four-point crawl at this point. He needs assistance with all standing positions and because of the high level of spasticity (tightness), his legs scissor a lot making walking movements hard when he uses a walker.
We are so excited that James has been accepted for SDR (selective dorsal rhizotomy) surgery. The surgery results in a significant reduction in spasticity which will have a huge impact on James' mobility and quality of life. SDR is performed at St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, USA by an internationally renowned neurosurgeon Dr. T.S. Park . Dr. Park predicts that James' spasticity will be permanently reduced, his sitting and standing postures will improve, his transitions between postures will be easier and faster, his balance and level of comfort will improve and he'll be able to walk using a walker. Crutch walking is possible. These predictions bring us great joy and excitement for James' future!
James is a very hard worker and responds well to a busy therapy schedule. He currently goes to Conductive Education at March of Dimes, horse back riding at Windreach Farms, and physiotherapy at SMILE therapy and Grandview Children's Centre, as well as swimming. We are confident James will respond well to intensive rehabilitation following his scheduled SDR surgery. The surgery is currently scheduled in 2020 but we are on the cancellation list which provides as little as 6 weeks notice should an earlier date become available (which we are hoping for).
Why we need your help:
We're trying to raise funds to help pay for: the surgery, equipment and braces for the home, physiotherapy both before and after the surgery, accommodation in St. Louis, travel costs and other costs associated with James' journey. Total costs are over $140,000.
How you can help:
1) Share James' journey
2) Contribute funds
a) Donate to James' GoFundMe page
b) E-transfer to [email redacted] for those who prefer to avoid credit card or other fees. Cash or cheques will absolutely be accepted too (will be added as an offline donation on GoFundMe)
c) If you wish to have a tax receipt, you can choose to donate to James through Handi-Care International (HCI). Reg. Charity Number: #BN 889046397RR0001. Donations will be added as an offline donation on GoFundMe.
To donate through HCI please click here. Be sure to clearly indicate your donation is to be given to James Wilson. For more information on HCI donations click here. HCI will cap the donation receipt at $10,000 per year (a couple can be eligible for $20,000 per year). There are no limits to corporate donations.
3) Donate an item. We are planning some fundraising events. If you have an item you wish to donate to be used in our fundraising initiatives, please contact [email redacted]
We so appreciate your help in our journey with James Michael. Please subscribe and follow along on our blog: www.journeywithjamesmichael.com
Photo Credit: Rebecca FortinThank you for your support!
Love,
Michael, Alison, James and Shae
Organizer
Alison Wilson
Organizer
Whitby, ON
