Owen Seiler Extended Hospital Stay

On December 6, Owen Seiler, the son of some very close friends of ours, and one of the boys that plays on our baseball team, was admitted to Toledo Hospital.  He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, unfortunately, the pneumonia infection made its way to his spinal fluid and ultimately to his brain.  On Wednesday, 12/9 he was moved to pediatric ICU.  He was nonresponsive and in the brief moments that he was awake, very confused mentally.  He had a battery of tests done, spinal tap, CAT scan, MRI, EEG, etc to try and determine what he had.  Eventually the diagnosis came back of viral encephalitis, basically inflammation of the brain.  There is no medical cure, only rest to allow the virus to run its course.  After spending 4 nights in PICU, he was finally deemed stable enough to be moved back to the regular part of the hospital.  SInce then, he has been improving steadily and wonderfully, it's truly amazing to see the progress he's made and I know that his parents are over the moon about starting to get their son back.  He does face some time getting back to normal though, physical and occupational therapy to get his strength back, and more tests to make sure that hasn't been any lasting damage neurologically.  During this time, his mom hasn't gone to work and his dad has had to cut back on the time he is available.  I know that I, personally, and both parents have been inundated with requests of, "what can we do to help," so I set this up as an easy way to give for friends, acquaintences, or anybody that just wants to help out.  This is aimed at supplementing their ability to pay the upcoming medical bills, which will no doubt be substantial.  Anything at all that you give would be appreciated, but if you can't give, that's fine, we just ask that you send some positive thoughts, prayers, vibes, etc Owen's way.  Please share this and let's get Owen home and back to regular life.

Thank you