Xavier's Wheelchair van/medical bills

Xavier Elijah Lee Lindo was born tuesday march 6, 2001. He was a big healthy baby boy weighing 8lbs 7oz & 21 inches long. I had heard all the horror stories of babies that never sleep at night and cry all the time. Xavier was never like that, he was the best baby. He was always so happy, he slept through the night & he never cried. Then on friday April 13, 2001 when he was five weeks old, he was shaken by his biological father, whom I had dated off and on for ten years, while I was finishing my last day at work. I was totally unaware that Xavier had been shaken, but I could tell that something was not right with him when I got him from work that day. But, his father said he probably had a cold & being a new/young mother, i believed him. We were moving back to Columbus from Atlanta Georgia the next morning, so I just trusted his father said & watched him closely through the night. Right when we got to Columbus we took him to the hospital. They tested him for spinal meningitis in a number of other things, with the results being severe head trauma with no explanation or Shaken Baby Syndrome. He was immediately flight lifted to Egleston children's Hospital in Atlanta. As they were putting him in the helicopter, they told us to get to atlanta ASAP, because IF he lived he would be blind and a vegetable and he'd probably never have skills to communicate, so I needed to prepare to take care of a body because that would be the extent of his functions. Due to being shaken, he had seizures from the bleeding on his brain, caused him to have multiple left strokes and his retinas were almost completely detached from his eyes. We were at the hospital for over six weeks in ICU, not having any idea what the outcome could be. When we got out of the hospital and got home I did everything in my power, including going to school to become an Occupational Therapist, to allow him to have the most enjoyable, "typical" life possible. He started receiving therapy services through Easter seals and babies can't wait and I began to see improvements in him. He wore glasses for 10 months and his vision corrected itself. He began to commando crawl when he was 2 & started talking at the age of three after he was weaned off of his seizure medication. He never met the developmental milestones as my younger two sons have, but anything he did do was a blessing! With the amount of brain damage he suffered, none of the doctors thought he would live to get out of ICU, so he is truly our miracle. When Xavier was 5 months old he had to have brain surgery to have a shunt placed because there was scar tissue blocking his right ventricle causing him to have spinal fluid build up on this brain (hydrocephalus). He has always overcome all of his multiple surgeries and hospital stays with a huge, bright smile on his face and a room full of personality for anyone that comes in his hospital room.

Today Xavier is a 135 lb., 12 year old who will start Middle School this year in the Moderately Intellectually Disabled class. He can read and complete simple math problems on a kindergarten/first grade level, but he has does have some age behaviors as he becomes more girl crazy with age. Due to the injury to his brain, he has a short attention span and no filter at times! But he has the best personality and most beautiful spirit that is infectious to anyone he's around! Xavier loves sports! He loves the Falcons & Alabama football. He loves to throw the football with his little brothers, especially now that he plays wheelchair flag football for the school district. He has played baseball since he was almost four with the Challenger Little League team. Brian McCann is his favorite baseball player, so he is always #16 & is always the catcher (with the help of a buddy). Xavier has to rely on the assistance of others for most of his activities of daily living which is very confusing and frustrating to an 12-year-old. Most 12-year-olds can get themselves in and out of bed, dressed, in and out of the bathtub, take a bath, go to the bathroom, fix something to eat/drink and pick things up off the floor for themselves. These are all things Xavier is unable to do by himself that "typical" people take for granite on a daily basis. Xavier relies on us to get him in and out of his bed each morning and night. He is dependent on us for his lower body dressing and toileting, however he can assist with pushing his arms through the holes of his shirts. Due to the parts of his brain that were injured from being shaken, he is unable to tell us when he needs to go to the bathroom. Therefore, he requires max assistance with toileting through the use adult diapers, which is a very costly necessity. At his age now he is becoming more and more aware of his body and the diaper changes, especially at school, are causing him to become more self-conscious, embarrassed & worried that he will be made fun of. With an extended amount of time, he can brush his teeth, wash his face and comb his hair. We have to transfer him into and out of the bathtub as well as bathe & dry him off. He does want to help during bath time & he can wash his face, wash his left arm and his chest. We try to give him as much independence as possible to keep his spirit & self-esteem high.

As I've said Xavier is a very social happy child, who loves to be out in the public. We have never treated Xavier like he has any disability and have always taken him everywhere that we have gone. However due to his size, it is getting more and more difficult to transfer him into and out of our vehicles. Just to go to ball practice we have to physically lift him six times in and out of his wheelchair, as well as lifting his wheelchair to put it in and out of vehicles. Physically lifting him is very tolling on your body, but we do it to assure that he feels as normal as possible & never gets left out of anything. He was born and normal healthy child and that was taken away from him at the hands of his and biological father. He should not have to suffer anymore from his father's actions, so we always do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen. Up until his last growth spurt, we have all been able to adjust to his weight gain. But he is getting to be almost as big as us now & lifting him into vehicles at least 6 times to go to make one stop is getting very difficult! We are in desperate need of a wheelchair van to cut down the number of times we have to manually lift him each day, for his safety as well as ours! We are a very active family, especially with 3 boys and school starting! Xavier wasn't born like this, he was born healthy, he was abused & made this way at the tiny age of 5 weeks old! He deserves a happy life fun filled life, not one of having to stay home because its raining & he & everyone else would be soaked if they had to get him in & out of the wheelchair 6 times in the rain. But with the cost of medical supplies, an after school sitter & all the other daily commands, we are having a hard time coming up with the money to afford such an expensive vehicle.