#teamcoop

Faith. Grit. Resiliency. Raw. Real. This is the Urquhart family. As many of you know, Jason, Patti, Cameron, Cooper, and Sadie have been on a roller coaster journey over the past couple of years. Cooper has been to many doctors and medical professionals with an ultimate diagnosis of PANDAS, an autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder which caused a multitude of symptoms and made Cooper's personality almost unrecognizable. The easy way to explain it was to say that Coop's brain was inflamed because of exposure to strep and it was making him sick and impacting every aspect of their family life and Coop's schooling. In trying to get Coop back, he had his tonsils removed last August, which helped for a bit, and then this past February he had an IVIG treatment, which put a band-aid on Coop's symptoms. As if that wasn't enough, shortly after Coop's surgery last August, Sadie was diagnosed with Celiac disease and a new gluten free world to navigate. I don't think Jason and Patti ever thought that Cameron's fatal food allergies would be put on the back burner of their worries! Through their journey, they made connections with so many other PANS/PANDAS families and served as a sounding board, someone else that truly knew and understood the daily struggles and frustrations of helping their kiddos navigate their new reality of living with this somewhat knew and controversial disorder. They were literally going through hell, while continuously helping to pull others out of the fire. Jason and Patti NEVER stopped looking for a root cause for Cooper and in April, their pet bird Polly died and Patti began to question whether or not there was an environmental factor at play. Soon after, they found out that their entire house was infested with mold- lots of different kinds including the toxic variety and it was affecting the health of the entire Urquhart family. They immediately moved Cooper out of the house and what happened next was nothing short of a miracle- slowly but surely Coop came BACK! They were stripped of everything they had- materially speaking. They had to sell their house and abandon virtually all of their belongings- but that didn't matter because Cooper was getting better! Truly, the health of your child is priceless. Very long story short, over the past few months, they have lived in a hotel, with friends and family, and now they are ready to move back to Plymouth to rent space that is fairly new and, most importantly, healthy.  If you know Jason and Patti well, you know they both are so hard working and do not like to extend their hands for any sort of help (although they are the first ones to give to others in need)- which is why I am doing it for them. They could not keep anything from their house that was not entirely metal, glass, or plastic. They need to buy everything- from facecloths to bedding, from dishtowels to a couch, new clothes and shoes. Jason and Patti are two of the most generous people I know and so many of you have asked how you can help them. First and foremost, please keep praying for them and for Coop's continued healing. Despite everything they have been through, they remain so faith filled and positive that their journey is one that is meant to be- to help other people and shine a light on families facing a similar road. And if you have the means, please consider donating this amazing family- any little bit helps. From the bottom of all of our hearts- thank you, thank you, thank you.