Bring Benji Home
Donation protected
As many of you know Kelsie and Mark welcomed Benjamin Dean on April 2nd, 2018 at 7lbs 15oz and 23 inches long. He came into the world with complications and at 10 days old has not yet seen life outside of the NICU of Tacoma General Hospital. He is the most precious little man and mom and dad are doing great and staying so strong for their little guy!
Benjamin turned blue and became unresponsive shortly after birth, which is when he was taken to the NICU and they determined his blood sugars to be too low and his insulin levels to be high.
"His first day of life was spent trying to get his blood sugar up from 20 to above 50. What worried us the most is the brain damage that could occur when the blood sugar levels stay low for an extended period of time. He had an IV put into his belly button to try and deliver a higher dose of dextrose, but his liver was in the way of the vein they were trying to reach. He then had to have an IV called a PIC line that they put into his arm that comes down the vein close to the heart. This was a great success and finally by 11:00pm they got his blood sugar above 50."
There have been good days and bad days for Benji since then. He has overcome some obstacles like a little champion but is still battling to regulate his blood sugar. They have tried to wean him off his dextrose IV and have had to increase it back up as his blood sugars decreased. After meeting with an endocrinologist on Tuesday, they believe he has hyperinsulinism (HI).
There are a number of different causes of severe hyperinsulinism. Some forms will resolve and are considered transient. Others arise from genetic defects and can persist throughout life. Brain damage is a risk in both cases.
Treatment plans will start with different medications, if he doesn't respond to these, seeing a specialist at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), would be next steps and could result in removal of the pancreas.
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/congenital-hyperinsulinism-center
His parents are so calm and strong through all of this, I know they can feel the blessings from all of the prayer warriors praying over them! Kelsie and Mark have spent every day and slept each night in the NICU with him and Mark will start working again tomorrow.
My hope is that we give them one less thing to stress about during this time by helping provide financial assistance for the burden of commuting to Tacoma General and eating at the hospital/surrounding restaurants. Please continue to storm heaven with prayers for Benjamin and his family, and for the doctors who are responsible for getting him home!
GoFundMe, while free, does charge a processing fee so feel free to donate directly to Kelsie and Mark as well.
Benjamin turned blue and became unresponsive shortly after birth, which is when he was taken to the NICU and they determined his blood sugars to be too low and his insulin levels to be high.
"His first day of life was spent trying to get his blood sugar up from 20 to above 50. What worried us the most is the brain damage that could occur when the blood sugar levels stay low for an extended period of time. He had an IV put into his belly button to try and deliver a higher dose of dextrose, but his liver was in the way of the vein they were trying to reach. He then had to have an IV called a PIC line that they put into his arm that comes down the vein close to the heart. This was a great success and finally by 11:00pm they got his blood sugar above 50."
There have been good days and bad days for Benji since then. He has overcome some obstacles like a little champion but is still battling to regulate his blood sugar. They have tried to wean him off his dextrose IV and have had to increase it back up as his blood sugars decreased. After meeting with an endocrinologist on Tuesday, they believe he has hyperinsulinism (HI).
There are a number of different causes of severe hyperinsulinism. Some forms will resolve and are considered transient. Others arise from genetic defects and can persist throughout life. Brain damage is a risk in both cases.
Treatment plans will start with different medications, if he doesn't respond to these, seeing a specialist at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), would be next steps and could result in removal of the pancreas.
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/congenital-hyperinsulinism-center
His parents are so calm and strong through all of this, I know they can feel the blessings from all of the prayer warriors praying over them! Kelsie and Mark have spent every day and slept each night in the NICU with him and Mark will start working again tomorrow.
My hope is that we give them one less thing to stress about during this time by helping provide financial assistance for the burden of commuting to Tacoma General and eating at the hospital/surrounding restaurants. Please continue to storm heaven with prayers for Benjamin and his family, and for the doctors who are responsible for getting him home!
GoFundMe, while free, does charge a processing fee so feel free to donate directly to Kelsie and Mark as well.
Organizer
Kirstie Ivie
Organizer
Enumclaw, WA
