Please Help Jared and Cheryl in Tough Times

Hi, I am Jared’s mother, Cheryl Rowe. Jared has been sick since before Christmas. He had been taken to the Emergency Room and Urgent Care many times (at least once a week!), and they could find nothing wrong. On January 26th, he was taken again to the emergency room. He tested positive for Flu A, pneumonia (viral and bacterial), collapsed lungs, and was septic. His oxygen dropped, and they had to intubate him with difficulty. Boston MedFlight transported him to Beth Israel. He has been in the Finard ICU at the East campus for 95 days. He had to have a tracheostomy and a feeding tube placed. They have run multiple bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, PET scans, lumbar punctures, and bone marrow biopsies. He is being followed by many doctors due to his abnormal genetics, trisomy 8/partial deletion of 15, unexplained high heart rates (140-170), labile blood pressures (high/low), multiple pneumonias, repeated right collapsed lung, and unexplained high fevers. Jared is still in the ICU, and I have been by his side 24/7. He is non-verbal and globally challenged. I have had to be his voice and advocate for him. I have not been able to work my second job either. I couldn’t leave him at the hospital. He did come home for the beginning of May but is now admitted in Boston Children’s Hospital ICU again for aspiration pneumonia and low O2 due to inadequate supplies we received. We are learning how to take care of him with his additional medical needs. Unfortunately, I just had to pay for both of his service dogs that just passed (one on her own, the other had major stroke and had to be euthanized at home) in April 2 weeks apart! I had them picked up from the house to be cremated, just like his past service dogs which emptied my savings. I have no vacation time left and just found out that I am out of paid family medical leave. I lost the pay from my second job since I was unable to work while Jared has been in the hospital. I only received partial pay (for my position from before I became director) and the extra expenses of having to eat at the hospital daily. Needless to say, I was already getting behind on bills with the partial pay and loss of the second paycheck. Now, without the partial check, we are without income. I am embarrassed to ask for help, but I need to be able to stay with my disabled, special needs, medically fragile son.

Thank you for any and all assistance!!

Cheryl and Jared