Bo's Buddies

Our dear friends, Jeff and Jenn Billick, are well known in their community - They are known for their generous spirits and willingness to always help a friend, neighbour, or loved one. Jeff in particular has been an avid host of countless fundraising events for charities in our community. It has now come the time to return the favour. 

Meet Bo! Bo is jeff and Jen’s son. Bo’s smile and giggles are infectious, his big sweet eyes are heart-stopping, and his larger than life personality shines on top. All of this is to say that Bo is truly one of a kind. 

In September of 2020, Bo was eager to meet his parents Jeff and Jenn. So eager the entire labour was 15 minutes long. Bo spent a few days in the NICU due to his low blood sugar but was cleared to go home with Mom and Dad shortly thereafter. A few months later into Bo’s development, it became clear to Jeff and Jenn that Bo was missing the average milestones by a few months. This is where the concern from his parents started and the consequent trips to the paediatrician to seek guidance. 

At six months old, Bo was registered into a Infant Development Program to track his development and progress. In addition, Bo started weekly physical and occupational therapy at a private clinic. During the first year of his life, Bo went through a myriad of testing and scans at BC Children’s hospital to see if there was a cause for his delays. These tests came back inconclusive. Shortly thereafter, Bo’s parents were directed to do genetic testing. In December, 2021 Jeff and Jenn received Bo’s results. Bo was diagnosed with Mosaic Trisomy 16. Specifically, uniparental isodisomy 16.

What is Uniparental Isodisomy 16? In short, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes. One from each parent which makes a total of 46 chromosomes. On Bo’s 16th chromosome, he most likely had 3 chromosomes - two from one parent and one from the other. This is Trisomy 16 and is not compatible with life. Miraculously, Bo’s body went through a “rescue” effect and ditched the extra chromosome. However, in Bo’s case, he ditched the single chromosome which left him with two chromosomes from the same parent. The 16th chromosome is responsible for a lot of things, but plays a big part in speech, fine motor and gross motor learning. 

Through it all, that smile, giggle, big eyes and personality have not changed! If you’ve been lucky enough to hang with Bo, you know this is true! 

Bo goes to therapy 2-3 times a week and his parents fly out with him to Calgary every 3 months to do an intensive therapy at a DMI clinic called S.M.I.L.E which has a ton of experience in helping kids with disabilities. We know the Billick’s are spending $20, 000-$25,000 a year on therapy to give Bo the support he needs. Unfortunately, the government will only provide one therapy session a month. Bo is a fighter and never gives up! His mom Jenn, a preschool teacher, decided to be a stay at home mom to give Bo the best care possible and ensure he gets physical therapy every day, even at home

Bo is now 20 months old and not walking. The future is unknown but we know he will face challenges throughout his entire life with physical ability - fine motor, gross motor, learning, and more. It’s become obvious that Bo’s parents have done everything in their power to give Bo the best life they can. If you speak with them, you know they have been trying to put him in a program called NAPA. It’s a world renowned program to help kids with disabilities. They currently are on the waitlist for Boston, LA, Denver and Chicago. 

So far, all testing, treatments, and therapies have been paid for by Bo’s parents. 

We want the Billick family to know how much we care about them - please help us come together as a community full of love and support for Bo! Let’s make sure he gets the opportunity to be a part of the NAPA program, has the funds and access to any therapy he may need in the future, and help the Billicks with their son’s development.