Helping Hands For Baby Ben

Hey guys! Upon request and encouragement from many friends, I have decided to open this account. For those who don't know me personally, my name is Mary and I am a middle school ELA teacher with 3 amazing boys: Nicholas, Zachary, and Benjamin. Benjamin was born on October 6th and since then his journey has been quite rough. He was diagnosed with severe acid reflux early on and his doctor immediately began aggressive treatment. After 6 weeks, 4 different formulas, and 2 different meds, he had only gained 1lb 1oz since his birth. He was diagnosed with failure to thrive. An upper GI ultrasound did not show any physical abnormalities, yet Benjamin continued to struggle. There have been 4 instances where he has thrown up so much that he aspirated and stopped breathing. I have taken a non-paid leave from work until we are able to get a handle on all of this. We were supposed to have an endoscopy with biopsies performed on December 9th, but it did not happen either. Now he is on PurAmino formula, which is about $44/can and Nexium packets 2x/day which are over $100/month. I am attempting to get WIC to help with the cost of formula, but apparently public school teachers get paid too much! :) We are not sure if we will continue to pursue the answers we need here in Lafayette or go to Children's Hospital in New Orleans. I ask for your thoughts and prayers moving forward; and if you would like to donate, that would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks again to everyone who has leant love and support thus far! --MB