Hi! My name is Julia Chennault and I am inviting you to help us raise funding for medical treatments for Sheldon Dicks. My husband, Ryan, and I have been friends with Sheldon and his parents, brother and sister for over 10 years. Sheldon’s parents are currently teachers in our small town schools, after his father retired from the Air Force, and we attend the same church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Heart Health

Sheldon, now 22 years old, has worked tirelessly to overcome separate health challenges in his life. When he was born, he had transposition of the great vessels which caused his blood to go backwards through his body. He endured open heart surgery to correct this at 10 days old and recovered wonderfully. As he grew older he successfully recovered from two other open heart surgeries to correct other defects. While in college on a soccer scholarship, Sheldon wasn’t able to keep up with the team and became very pale. In 2019, he received an aortic valve replacement and again recovered very well.

Intestinal Health

The other medical condition Sheldon has fought to overcome is intestinal illnesses. He has had 30 surgeries on his abdomen in his life. For the past year and a half, he has received surgeries to remove scarred small intestinal tissue and intestinal blockages. Currently he has so little small intestine (short bowel syndrome) that he has received an ostomy bag, with no timetable when it can be removed.

All these intestinal problems began almost from birth, like the heart defects. While a month-old infant, he developed pyloric stenosis. A feeding tube was placed into his stomach from the outside of his body, but it wasn't placed correctly. All the food was going into his abdomen and swelling the area up, leading to a sepsis infection.

The military immediately flew Sheldon and his parents from North Dakota to Omaha to see a specialist. During the flight, a terrible storm threatened to redirect the flight to Michigan. However Sheldon would slip into septic shock if there were any delays to arriving in Omaha, and the passengers and flight crew prayed for a break in the storm to allow safe travel to Omaha. Then, the co-pilot saw an opening in the storm that was not on the radar. The pilot advised the passengers to “Hold on!” and flew through the opening in the clouds, and successfully landed in Omaha.

After the surgery for sepsis, the doctors frankly told Sheldon’s parents that he may only have 48 hours to live. He received prayers and blessings which were answered. To the doctor’s amazement, he steadily recovered over 4 months in the ICU and was discharged. Doctors would bring colleagues to meet this miracle baby who defied certain death and would not quit.

Starting in 2022, he has had several surgeries to remove scarring and blocked intestinal tissue from previous surgeries to the point where he has lost nearly all his small intestine and 25% of his large intestine, requiring an ostomy bag to be placed in his body. There is no expected time when this can be removed. There is no expected time when Sheldon should fully recover.

Dreams On Hold

Sheldon had to put his dreams of playing soccer in college on hold to recover from his aortic valve transplant. He has also had to put his dreams of serving a Spanish-speaking mission for his church on hold to receive surgeries for his blocked and scarred intestinal tissue. However we don’t want him to also put his dream of living a full life on hold—we want him to live and recover and enjoy life and living.

The Need

Sheldon’s parents have never asked us for any help, but they could use help to pay for the medical bills for his TPNs. Total Parenteral Nutrition is the food Sheldon needs because he does not have enough small intestine to absorb nutrition from normal food. TPNs bypass the gastrointestinal tract through intravenous injections, and after insurance pays the bulk of it, Sheldon’s out of pocket expense is a sizable $1800 per month for the nutrition. The family has been able to cover many of the costs through medical insurance, but have had to take time off work to take care of Sheldon, traveling to specialists in places like Omaha, NE, and spending time in hospitals. The more time required away from work creates less resources to pay for out-of-pocket expenses for Sheldon. Sheldon’s mom had to put off her advanced degree studies due to the high out-of-pocket medical costs. This derails her planned future increase in earning power to help pay for the TPNs.

I am asking for help to pay for these medical bills. Due to the increased daily requirements after this latest surgery (requiring a hospital bed in-home and medical supplies), the family has gotten behind and found themselves unable to catch up with the medical bills.

Who Is Sheldon?

I want to give Sheldon the hope to get better. The hope that when he gets better, he won’t have an insurmountable pile of bills to deal with. He is such a kind, thoughtful young man. He enriches the life of everyone he knows and we are all grateful for our association with him. It has been a joy to watch him grow from a talented boy to the remarkable man he chooses to be.

How You Can Help

Ryan and I would appreciate any donations you would like to contribute to this cause. If you are unable to donate, would you please share this? The more eyes we can get on it the lighter the load. We appreciate you learning more about Sheldon’s story and wish you the best.