Many of you may be familiar with my story, but for those who are not, my name is Taija Robertson. On December 9th, 2023, my family and I were impacted by a traumatic accident involving my son, Evan, who is only 9 years old. As many kids his age do, he was riding his bicycle and had an accident. While most bicycle accidents end up causing skinned knees and maybe a bruised ego, unfortunately during his accident, the handlebars forcibly hit his abdomen resulting in a grade 4 laceration to his pancreas. We have been told that while this type of injury is known, it is very rare, and the severity of the laceration requires months of recovery. Thanks to ER physician, this was quickly identified and we were transported to Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, where we were admitted and became our home for 17 days. His first surgery occurred two days after we were admitted. They inserted two drains into his abdomen to collect the pancreatic fluid that was leaking into his stomach cavity and causing him severe pain. Almost a week later we were transported by helicopter to be seen by a gastroenterologist in Orlando who performed another surgery and inserted a stent into Evan's pancreatic duct. It was during this procedure that we found out that his pancreatic duct was completely severed. We were told that only about one-third of his pancreas is intact, while the other portion continues to fill with fluid and into his body. This news was devastating as it confirmed that not only will we need to prepare for more surgeries in the future, but also the possibility of Evan developing diabetes and possibly needing digestive enzymes. He has not been able to eat, fearing the risk of activating the pancreas. Therefore, he is currently receiving all of his food and nutrition through an IV. We were discharged from the hospital on December 26th with his drains and IV still intact and are receiving at-home health care while we wait for our upcoming appointments and procedures. We are also seeking options to continue his school year as he has already missed quite a bit of school. We are trying to take things day by day and are hoping he is able to continue to heal and transition to our new "normal." Any money donated will help keep his father and I by his side. We were able to get a RedCross message out, allowing Colby to travel from his duty station in Oklahoma to Florida so that he can be here with Evan and the girls. Any donation will help with medical bills and support basic needs like transportation and food. Any amount is greatly appreciated, if you are not able to donate, we thank you for reading, sharing, and thinking of Evan, who continues to prove just how strong he is!