Where there’s a will, there’s a Wey

Hi, my name is Cheyenne. My husband Isaak and I’s first son, Weylon, experienced a severe HIE (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy) brain injury at birth which caused a lack of blood flow and oxygen to his brain and this has lead to him having severe spastic quadriplegic (meaning all four limbs are affected) cerebral palsy. This is a lifelong disability. Weylon relies on us for essentially everything from being transferred from place to place to being fed through his feeding tube. It is an honor to be his parents and caregivers and we strive to give him the very best life we can.

We were told the evening he was born that he most likely wouldn’t survive the night. Those words surely put life into perspective for us. It was a miracle that we ended up leaving the NICU just about a month after we heard those words to take him home for the first time and here we are almost four years later! Weylon’s life is such a gift and we are so thankful that he fought so hard to be here with us still to this day. We have learned so much these past almost four years and are still learning daily.

It has been beautiful and difficult and everything in between! Medical life is not for the faint of heart but we are so honored that God chose us to be his parents and his advocates. Throughout the course of Weylon’s life so far he has had countless treatments, therapies, and procedures and we have learned from each appointment and hospital admission that he has had.

Weylon has been our biggest teacher, and has pushed me to learn more. Since he was a few months old and I was informed about the type of injury he sustained, I have been researching and I haven’t stopped since. Early on after researching and connecting with other families I had learned about a myriad of alternative therapies that existed and have benefited so many children on their road to recovery. I’ve learned about brain plasticity and the ability for the brain to grow and learn and create new connections despite the devastating diagnosis received after his birth. At the time I just didn’t see the option of traveling for alternative therapies and treatments as tangible for us, both due to how Weylon would tolerate traveling and mostly financially being able to afford the out of pocket costs. Unfortunately insurance doesn’t cover many beneficial therapies that can greatly impact and promote healing in people with brain injuries. The knowledge of these therapies has always been in the back of my mind and I’d always hoped one day it could be a possibility!

After following the routine advice, suggestions, prescriptions and procedures provided to children like Weylon- he was just a glimpse of the child we knew that was inside him. He was sick, tired and angry all the time. I began to research and question everything that was going into his body from prescriptions to injections and realized he was experiencing way more side effects than benefits from each of them. Since he has stopped all of them he has been a completely different child and an overall happy kid compared to before. His bodily functions are functioning better, his vision has improved, he laughs, smiles and vocalizes more, he’s more comfortable in his body, his vomiting switched from multiple times daily to on occasion, he's more alert and aware and he isn’t angry all day long! We never would have truly known him if we wouldn’t have tried and I’m so glad we did!

Now we are on a mission to further his healing and development by seeking out treatments and providers that have a better understanding of pediatric brain injury and holistic health vs. treating it as a “one size fits all” diagnosis. We have seen how the pharmaceutical treatments utilized do not promote healing and actually cause more damage than help. We yearn to be able to give Weylon opportunities for healing and recovery. Unfortunately a lot of the providers and treatments are not covered by insurance and we are humbly coming to you (whoever has taken the time to read this) to ask if you could please donate or share this fundraiser to help us get Weylon the best care that he deserves to give him the best quality of life and the chance to truly thrive. We know we are asking a lot but truly believe this will benefit Weylon greatly and anything at all is so helpful! There are waitlists for some of these therapies and we want to be able to accept the appointments once we get a call for an opening instead of having to be put back on a waitlist due to not being able to cover the cost. We are hoping and believing that some of our dreams for Weylon’s HEALTHcare will become a reality. Thank you for following our journey up until this point, we are so excited for what’s to come!

Please believe with us that where there’s a will, there’s a Wey!