Super Kooper Trooper

From Kooper’s mother: Kooper started out with just a tummy ache. We thought it was a virus. After several days of him not being able to eat or drink much, I took him to the ER. He was taken by ambulance from there to St. Francis Children's Hospital. It was originally thought that he had an infection spreading from his appendix. He had his appendix removed. That wasn't the problem. About an hour after the surgery, stool samples came back. He had E. Coli, which led to HUS. HUS causes kidney failure, so he was put on dialysis. For a few days things seemed like they were moving forward. Then he started having problems with his blood pressure and heart rate and oxygen levels. They put him on oxygen and I left for the night for the first time. We got a call from the nurse that night asking if they had permission to insert a chest tube to drain fluid. We agreed and fell back to sleep. Just a few minutes later we got a frantic call back to come back to the hospital. He had coded. I wasn't there. He was somewhat stable by the time we got back, but not doing well. The doctors then decided to put him on the ECMO machine. The HUS had also affected his heart and lungs. We were told this only happens in 4-5% of patients. The machine worked to bypass his heart and lungs so they could rest. He eventually had 3 chest tubes inserted, 2 on the left, 1 on the right. While on ECMO he developed a blood clot that grew quickly on his left lung. He had to have surgery to remove it while still on the machine. This had only been done twice before in the world. Surgery was a success. He was able to come off of ECMO after about a week. About another week later he was off off kidney dialysis. The blood clot did a number on his left lung. He was intubated for over 2 weeks, initially because he was heavily sedated, then because only one lung was really functioning. It has now been 4 weeks and the only problem that remains is getting his lung to clear out and getting his oxygen levels back to normal without the use of a machine. He has come a long way in a few short weeks. I have no doubt that prayers from near and far helped get him through everything. He's the toughest, strongest kid I have ever known and he has no idea! However, our medical bills are just astronomical. We are doing our best, but being with Kooper is our #1 priority. Any help you may be able to give will be so appreciated, and my family will be forever grateful.