Azariah's Battle with AFM & Long Road to Recovery

As many of you may already know, my nephew Azariah has been in the pediatric ICU battling AFM since August 30th.  Azariah started that morning excited for his pirate day at school and was ready to have fun with his friends. Not long after being dropped off at school, my sister was called and told he was having neck and shoulder pain that was traveling down his hands. Soon after, she got a second call saying he wasn’t able to walk. He was taken by ambulance to the ER and has been in critical but stable condition ever since. He was intubated until five days ago, when he had surgery to insert a trach tube in his neck. Protecting his airway is a priority since he can’t breathe on his own, he is paralyzed on his left side and has right sided weakness. 

Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) is a rare condition that has affected his spinal cord. AFM affected his ability to breathe, causing respiratory failure; which made his heart stop. He’s fought through pneumonia, collapsed lungs, two spinal taps, very low heart rates that are being affected by his condition as well as drops in his oxygen levels. This has been extremely long and stressful for everyone, especially for Azariah and his parents. He is suffering through a lot of anxiety and fear from all the trauma he’s been having to live with every moment of every day. 

There currently isn’t a cure or a way to reverse AFM. Only time and aggressive physical therapy will help improve Azariah’s condition. This little boy is a fighter and has shown small improvements daily. The next step in his recovery will be to transfer him to an acute physical therapy facility as soon as it is safe to do so. It can take months or up to more than a year for him to heal and regain everything he’s lost. We are trying to cope with the reality that some of the damage may be permanent.

I’m asking for everyone’s help in supporting my sister Andrea and her family so that she can be with Azariah. She hasn’t left his side since the very first day and I would like to give her the peace of mind without the burden of finances. My hope is that she can stay off work for as long as possible and that everyone’s generosity will also help cover medical bills or expenses insurances won’t cover for Azariah’s diagnosis.  

Please keep Azariah in your prayers & thank you for your donations.