Help Nick Succeed!

In 2014, when my son Nick was 2 years old, he was diagnosed with Craniopharyngioma, a rare type of noncancerous (benign) brain tumor.  He underwent a brain tumor resection shortly after diagnosis, which successfully removed the tumor, along with most of his pituitary gland.  While we are able to supplement all of the hormones the gland produced (with pills and injections), his immune system has been heavily compromised since the surgery.  Although Nick has enjoyed an extremely active, happy and adventure filled childhood, his compromised immune system has resulted in medical complications and multiple hospital admittances.   

In late February 2019, when Nick was 6 years old, he contracted a GI Infection which, as a result of complications due to his pre-existing condition, caused several prolonged seizures.  His outer Cortex was injured damaging the areas of his brain that control motor skills, cognitive abilities, speech, and unfortunately vision.  Nick is now medically stable, but is visually impaired and working hard to regain his speech, cognitive abilities and range of motion through rehabilitative therapy.  With the help of dedicated medical and rehabilitative staff and the love and support of his family and friends, Nick has made huge strides in his recovery, however, he still has a long and difficult journey ahead of him, with his lack of vision making it that much more challenging.  While Nick may never return to his old self, he has the potential to lead a healthy and normal life again.  There are so many tools and resources available for children with special needs like Nick, to help them thrive and adapt to the challenges they are facing, and most importantly, continue their recovery progress.  Unfortunately, most if not all of these resources and tools are costly and not covered by insurance.  This is where we need your help! 

Below are some of the ways we plan to utilize the funding to help Nick succeed and lead a happy healthy life.  Those of you who know Nick, and have witnessed his strength and joy for life, can attest as to how realistic this goal is!  Any support you are willing to give to help Nick and his family is so greatly appreciated.  

If you are interested in following Nick’s progress and journey to success you may do so at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nicklopez


- Additional Therapy Sessions
- Adaptive Bike  (Tandem)
- Specialized Communication Devices
- Summer Camps for Special Needs children
- Special Needs sensory devices and tools to aid learning for visually and mentally impaired children