Caleb’s Story Of Faith and Courage
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Caleb’s Story – Of Faith and Courage
This campaign is for my nephew Caleb
Our little 5 year old Caleb’s birth brought us immense happiness and Joy. He is very smart and friendly and loved to play. His favorite sport is cricket; he always love to watch games with his dad. We all were so happy and proud of our Caleb when he got admission to kindergarten in one of the best schools.
On 3rd March 2017, as routine he was in daycare and by evening he had an episode of unusually high fever and required immediate medical attention in the PICU at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. Caleb was diagnosed with Severe Sepsis of the Blood (condition that turns the blood in his body toxic).
Further diagnosis revealed an acute and often fatal, thrombotic disorder that rapidly lead to skin necrosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation and severe myocardial dysfunction.
Doctors worked frantically when he had only 5% chances of survival and we all were desperately pleading to God for his life. Caleb was on ventilator while the doctors treated him with different combinations of antibiotics to address the infection as the causative agent of the sepsis remained elusive. As a miracle, God answered our prayers and through his grace, thankfully, Caleb responded to the treatment and his vital organ functions were restored. But this progress (and our happiness) was short-lived and soon it was found that a gangrenous infection had developed on his limbs (including his hand-two fingers and leg-only toe) and was spreading rapidly. Soon our boy had bilateral peripheral limb gangrene and with extensive myonecrosis below knee.
Our son did not give up and we never gave up hope – we prayed, nurtured, comforted him and researched possible treatments as best we could. The plastic surgeon treating Caleb advised a prohibitive hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help preserve the tissue damage and suggested there was a slim chance that Caleb might respond positively to the therapy. For us, as his parents, even the promise of a “slim chance” was worth exploring, and so we proceeded with the therapy. At the end of each hyperbaric oxygen treatment, our hearts beat faster as we watched over our son day and night for the slightest sign of movement or visible improvement in skin colour. However, after more than 10 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, Caleb showed no signs of progress and doctors discontinued the treatment. After spending 38 days straight in intensive care unit, this news devastated our family. But we persisted with the treatment and further diagnosis without amputation. It was heartbreaking to even consider having our son’s legs amputated. The pitter-patter of his little feet, the sound of his footsteps, Caleb’s own dreams of becoming a sportsperson reverberated through our decisions and we clung on desperately for some hope – faith, prayers and supernatural miraculous healing.
Furthermore, doctors also suspect that he is hypo-gammaglobulinemia immunodeficient and diagnosed Bacteroides fragilis as the major caustic agent of his sepsis. To this end WCC levels are periodically monitored and Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) injections given to maintain normal immunoglobulin levels. Once in two weeks he is given IVIG injections.
At the moment, our little boy is tired of fighting (he often asks if he will ever be able to get out of bed and run and play with his friends) and in excruciating pain. With mounting bills to pay, we moved him home and took on the responsibility of caring for him. But things took a turn for the worse when his condition deteriorated without warning. Even before we could react one of Caleb’s leg auto-amputated (the leg literally fell off), leaving him in truly unimaginable pain. We rushed him to the emergency ward where doctors asked us to prepare to have his other leg amputated too. It's hard to console ourselves as parents through all this, and even harder to console Caleb that the pain will go away and everything is going to be fine again. Currently both of his legs are amputated. His hands have multiple fractures and Caleb is undergoing treatment to heal his wounds for prosthetic fitting. Doctors have recommended multiple plastic surgeries to address various issues.
But our little boy has not given up on himself - he still smiles through the pain and his eyes light up at the thought of just going out of the hospital and living again. Caleb is going to have to stay in hospital for weeks or months, Caleb’s hospital bills have run up and insurance doesn’t cover all those expenses, We reach out to you in desperation and need to help our Caleb in any small way that you can to save him. Thank you for being part of Caleb recovery. We pray and hope that God who has given Caleb second life will completely restore his health. God’s blessing for your generosity and prayers.
This campaign is for my nephew Caleb
Our little 5 year old Caleb’s birth brought us immense happiness and Joy. He is very smart and friendly and loved to play. His favorite sport is cricket; he always love to watch games with his dad. We all were so happy and proud of our Caleb when he got admission to kindergarten in one of the best schools.
On 3rd March 2017, as routine he was in daycare and by evening he had an episode of unusually high fever and required immediate medical attention in the PICU at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. Caleb was diagnosed with Severe Sepsis of the Blood (condition that turns the blood in his body toxic).
Further diagnosis revealed an acute and often fatal, thrombotic disorder that rapidly lead to skin necrosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation and severe myocardial dysfunction.
Doctors worked frantically when he had only 5% chances of survival and we all were desperately pleading to God for his life. Caleb was on ventilator while the doctors treated him with different combinations of antibiotics to address the infection as the causative agent of the sepsis remained elusive. As a miracle, God answered our prayers and through his grace, thankfully, Caleb responded to the treatment and his vital organ functions were restored. But this progress (and our happiness) was short-lived and soon it was found that a gangrenous infection had developed on his limbs (including his hand-two fingers and leg-only toe) and was spreading rapidly. Soon our boy had bilateral peripheral limb gangrene and with extensive myonecrosis below knee.
Our son did not give up and we never gave up hope – we prayed, nurtured, comforted him and researched possible treatments as best we could. The plastic surgeon treating Caleb advised a prohibitive hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help preserve the tissue damage and suggested there was a slim chance that Caleb might respond positively to the therapy. For us, as his parents, even the promise of a “slim chance” was worth exploring, and so we proceeded with the therapy. At the end of each hyperbaric oxygen treatment, our hearts beat faster as we watched over our son day and night for the slightest sign of movement or visible improvement in skin colour. However, after more than 10 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, Caleb showed no signs of progress and doctors discontinued the treatment. After spending 38 days straight in intensive care unit, this news devastated our family. But we persisted with the treatment and further diagnosis without amputation. It was heartbreaking to even consider having our son’s legs amputated. The pitter-patter of his little feet, the sound of his footsteps, Caleb’s own dreams of becoming a sportsperson reverberated through our decisions and we clung on desperately for some hope – faith, prayers and supernatural miraculous healing.
Furthermore, doctors also suspect that he is hypo-gammaglobulinemia immunodeficient and diagnosed Bacteroides fragilis as the major caustic agent of his sepsis. To this end WCC levels are periodically monitored and Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) injections given to maintain normal immunoglobulin levels. Once in two weeks he is given IVIG injections.
At the moment, our little boy is tired of fighting (he often asks if he will ever be able to get out of bed and run and play with his friends) and in excruciating pain. With mounting bills to pay, we moved him home and took on the responsibility of caring for him. But things took a turn for the worse when his condition deteriorated without warning. Even before we could react one of Caleb’s leg auto-amputated (the leg literally fell off), leaving him in truly unimaginable pain. We rushed him to the emergency ward where doctors asked us to prepare to have his other leg amputated too. It's hard to console ourselves as parents through all this, and even harder to console Caleb that the pain will go away and everything is going to be fine again. Currently both of his legs are amputated. His hands have multiple fractures and Caleb is undergoing treatment to heal his wounds for prosthetic fitting. Doctors have recommended multiple plastic surgeries to address various issues.
But our little boy has not given up on himself - he still smiles through the pain and his eyes light up at the thought of just going out of the hospital and living again. Caleb is going to have to stay in hospital for weeks or months, Caleb’s hospital bills have run up and insurance doesn’t cover all those expenses, We reach out to you in desperation and need to help our Caleb in any small way that you can to save him. Thank you for being part of Caleb recovery. We pray and hope that God who has given Caleb second life will completely restore his health. God’s blessing for your generosity and prayers.
Organizer
Charles Xavier
Organizer
Boyds, MD
