<div>**edited 3/1/25- on top of everything you read below, Kaiden has now been diagnosed with B Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia! He was diagnosed on 1/30 and started treatment just a week later. This was a major shock and completely unexpected! He did undergo a 4.5hr surgery, and the leukemia was found afterwards due to labwork never being done prior to surgery.  I am now out of work for the next 1 to 2 years, as his treatment plan is for 2.5 years. 
</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>So this may be a little lengthy, but I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it.



</div>



<div><strong>Kaiden James was born unexpectedly at 29 weeks and only 3 pounds due to vasa previa with a bilobed placenta.</strong>



</div>



<div>After spending 60 days in the NICU, and against all odds, my baby boy came home with a clean bill of health, only needing an apnea monitor for about 2 weeks.



</div>



<div><br />



</div>



<div>After following up with every specialist under the sun for about 6 months to confirm he would have no health concerns, around the age of 1, Kaiden was starting to walk and would have sudden episodes of SCREAMING! Out of the blue, and for no reason to be seen. After multiple visits to the ER and pediatrician, we finally got a referral to an orthopedic in St. Petersburg at All Children’s Hospital.



</div>



<div>Kaiden was 2 at this point, and after another round of radiographs, he was diagnosed with Femoral Anteversion and toe walking.



</div>



<div>At this point, we were given an order for physical therapy and AFO braces. He was in custom-made braces for 6 weeks for the toe walking, but his anteversion, we were told, he would outgrow.



</div>



<div>Over the next couple of years, we had regular follow-ups every 6 months with the orthopedic with no additional options. As a growing toddler, due to his femoral anteversion, Kaiden was tripping and falling often. Unable to keep up with his classmates and sibling, it breaks a mother's heart to see this.



</div>



<div>Both of his feet turn inward, causing him to trip over himself. He goes through random episodes of leg and back pain, to the point he’s crying and unable to stand.



</div>



<div>After moving to Lakeland 2 years ago, we needed to find another orthopedic to follow up with.



</div>



<div>That’s when we found Dr. Khoury out of Nemours Children’s Health.



</div>



<div>I’ll never forget our very first visit. Dr. Khoury did his physical exam and sat down with us. His words to me were, I know we just met, so I’m sorry to bring up a sensitive topic, but has anyone ever talked to you about Cerebral Palsy?



</div>



<div>SHOCKED, I said No! Given Kaiden's medical background, not ONE. SINGLE. SPECIALIST. ever mentioned it!



</div>



<div>Dr. Khoury believed he has CP but wanted us to follow up with neurology to confirm, along with another set of radiographs to confirm his femoral anteversion.



</div>



<div>During our visit with Dr. Rossi (neuro), he also believed Kaiden to have CP but ordered a sedated MRI to confirm.



</div>



<div>After his MRI and radiographs, he was officially diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia (CP) and Femoral Anteversion.



</div>



<div><br />



</div>



<div>Kaiden is now scheduled for a GASTROCNEMIUS RECESSION where they will lengthen his tendons and an OSTEOTOMY, INTERTROCHANTERIC/SUBTROCHANTERIC W/ INT/EXT FIXATION/CAST where they will rotate his hips and insert plates.



</div>



<div>Kaiden will be hospitalized for days following, then released on bed rest and non-weight bearing for months to follow.



</div>



<div><strong>Kaiden, only 6 years old, will be confined to a wheelchair for a minimum of 6 weeks, undergo vigorous PT twice a day, 3 days a week for 3-6 months until he is cleared for full activity again. Around 6-12 months after surgery, depending on his recovery, he will undergo another brief surgery to remove the plates that were placed.</strong>



</div>



<div><br />



</div>



<div>Kaiden is so optimistic and has been prepared for his surgery. All he can think about is running faster, playing sports, and fixing his “crooked legs” as he calls them!



</div>



<div><br />



</div>



<div>Kaiden will be out of school during his recovery and will be homeschooled by a teacher that will come to the house every day for him.



</div>



<div><br />



</div>



<div>This is going to be a very long journey for him, but I want to make sure he is as comfortable as he can be. For a 6-year-old boy, that is already so active, outgoing, and loves exploring, it’s going to kill me to see him in any pain, or him not being able to get out of his wheelchair for weeks at a time!



</div>



<div><br />



</div>



<div><strong>I'm going to have to stay home with him during this time, and it’s very stressful to think about money at a time like this. However, bills don’t stop, and I still have two other children who depend on me as well.</strong>



</div>



<div>I have never done something like this, but without my income, I’m going to have to take things day by day.



</div>



<div>Times are tough for everyone right now, I get that. If you are unable to donate, I completely understand. If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read!



</div>



<div>If you are able to donate, please know it is greatly, deeply, and so very much appreciated!



</div>



<div>No one ever expects to have their child go through a major surgery!



</div>

Anonymous

Paul Moran

Jonathan Balk

Kelli Lorini

David Robertson

Terri Newberry

Victoria Mitchell

Nancy Nelson

Mary Ann Massolio

Heather&Dee Day & Anaiya Day

Mai-Phuong Tran

kaley succow

Lauren Simkin

Sue Jweid

Kevin Sampl

Kaiden's Journey to Recovery: Your Help Needed

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Kaiden's Journey to Recovery: Your Help Needed

Still $3,237 to go. Help us build momentum.