Be Brave with Ollie!

Hello! We are doing a fundraiser for my friends family to help cover cost for her sons upcoming surgery! Please read until the end! Here soon we also are hoping to start orders for T-shirt’s to purchase! Help us rally around this family and show support and help take some of the financial worry off their shoulders!

Oliver is one of the orneriest little five-year-old you will ever meet, but also the most gentle and loving soul. He is the definition of a sour patch kid. One second, he’s being incredibly difficult to manage and then the next he will look at you with his big blue eyes and tell you how much he loves you and completely melts your heart. He is the youngest of two boys and has an extra special place in his heart for his big brother. He’s currently in kindergarten and loves to play games, read books, playing outside, and eating chocolate. Seriously, this kid really loves chocolate; it’s kind of an issue. Oliver is special in so many ways, but some of those ways have made his life a little bit harder.

Oliver was diagnosed with Pfeiffer’s Syndrome at a young age and that diagnosis was accompanied with a form of Craniosynostosis. Long story short, his skull bones haven’t developed and grown the way they should have over his five years on this Earth. He’s already had to have three surgeries by the time he was a year old to help alleviate pressure on his brain put on by the malformation of his skull, and it’s not a comfortable thing for him to experience.

During his first surgery, doctors had to perform a craniectomy and remove parts of his skull to allow for more growth and movement for his brain. During the second surgery, a shunt was placed into his skull with a drainage tube into his stomach to help remove spinal fluid from the brain to help decrease pressure. Then, shortly after those he had to have metal distractors screwed into his head that were wound with a special tool to help push parts of his skull back to create even further room for his big ole brain. Moreover, he’s been on special medication for over three years that he has to take every night that further reduces spinal fluid build up on his brain, literally any and every option possible to put off further surgeries for this little guy has been exhausted, and now the time has come for him to finally go back under the knife.

Sometime soon his wonderful doctor will once again perform a craniectomy to remove more pieces of his skull so is brain can continue to grow without being put under constant pressure. Think of his brain as a bloated stomach and by removing pieces of his skull the doctors are essentially unbuttoning his pants to let his skull breathe a little easier without all the discomfort.

Unfortunately for mom and dad, the doctor that he has seen since he was under a year of age has moved hospitals, and insurance no longer covers the hospital that she works under. So, they are asking for donations to help with medical bills when the time comes. They aren’t sure how much the overall total is just yet, but insurance will only cover 30% for out of network surgical procedures, after the deductible has been met.