<div>To All of Our Potential Difference Makers:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My name is Timothy Eaker, AKA, Piersen’s Dad.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>May I take a moment of your day so I can share who we are, our journey so far, where we hope to go in the future, and the significant part you may play in P’s world?
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<div>(in advance – thank you.)
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<div><br />
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<div>Memories of Valentines Day 2014 remain vivid.
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<div>An unexpected phone call at work.
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<div>The ride to Sarah Bush Hospital.
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<div>The sounds of the ER waiting room.
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<div>The snowy drive to Champaign-Urbana.
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<div>Shaking, praying, hoping.
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<div>Waiting and more waiting.
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<div>Wishing for any news.
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<div><br />
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<div>Even today, it remains crystal clear.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>Piersen was injured at his licensed daycare facility. Everything changed forever in that moment.
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<div><br />
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<div>Ultimately it was determined Piersen suffered from Shaken Baby Syndrome, which is when a young child is shaken so hard that the brain literally crashes into the hard surfaces of the skull. The resulting damage has caused Piersen’s current health issues – currently 37 of them.
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<div><br />
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<div>It would be years before we understood what that meant for P’s daily life. In those initial days, the neurologist treating him seemed to give one soul crushing report after another. I’m sure some of you reading this have gone through a devastating event and can relate.
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<div><br />
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<div>Anxiety, constant heartburn, on the edge of crying, confusion, anger, every moment of those first few weeks. Very dark at times. There are still dark moments, but we believe there will always be a purpose in our pain. God will see us through, and He will use our story – if we continue to share it.
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<div><br />
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<div>I can tell you that no person should have to endure the experiences Piersen has had to live through over the past 122 months, but the very first miracle in all of this was that he survived at all.
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<div><br />
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<div>We are grateful for all the medical professionals that helped Piersen in that first year:
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<div>Charleston, Champaign, St. Louis, Chicago.
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<div>Grateful for the ones who care for him still: Monmouth, Galesburg, Peoria, Chicago.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our extraordinary home nurses, Caryn and Stacey, provide care and love for Piersen every single day. (They are more than nurses to P. They are family).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>All of us remain extremely grateful for the people and prayers.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>Fast forward 10 years. Within limitations, Piersen has thrived. An implanted Baclofen pump in his abdomen has helped lessen muscle rigidity and an implanted VNS pump under his right collarbone has eliminated all seizure activity. He’s endured surgeries to both hips and major spinal surgery. The 2 rods and 27 screws in his back help keep him straight and growing in the right direction. And grow he has! He’s currently around 5 feet tall and weighs 95 pounds and hasn’t even hit his growth spurt yet. A general estimate puts him over 6 feet tall, weighing between 140 and 160 pounds.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>But with healthy growth has come troubling problems.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The main area of our home is ideal for Piersen. Open space, easy access to going in and out. However, accessing the bedrooms or either bathroom requires going down 2 narrow hallways and navigating several 90 degree turns. Larger wheelchairs over the years made this difficult and then impossible.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>Piersen’s size has made carrying him any distance difficult if not outright dangerous. For the past year, he has slept, lived, played, and learned in the family room.
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<div><br />
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<div>It has also become impossible to get him into the bathroom, much less the bathtub or shower, so he’s had bed baths and shampoos with a bucket. Other aspects of his life have also been affected, but you get the idea.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>What’s in the planning? By building an addition off the family room of our home, we can create a dedicated space for Piersen. A sleeping area that’s not his living area. A therapy area so he continues to exercise and learn. A bathroom with a tub that P can be lowered into for a long soak. &lt;ahhhhhh....&gt; A ceiling track lift system to enable safe transfers from bed to chair to couch to bath. Adequate storage so all his things can be accessed as needed. A monitoring system so he can be safely watched overnight. A door that can be closed when he needs quiet or wants to play his music really loud. Miscellaneous odds and ends, but overall, a huge project that will make a massive difference in Piersen’s life, not just in the immediate future but for years to come.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
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<div>Piersen is surrounded by a tribe who love him. We are abundantly grateful. This new endeavor of providing P’s new space is where our family is asking for your help. This “ask” has placed us in a vulnerable place, but sometimes that’s where God does His best work. Our immediate and primary concern = raising the funds necessary to provide Piersen with his special space.
</div>
<div><br />
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<div>Your gift (of any size) means the world to our family.
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<div><br />
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<div>Other avenues of assistance may also look like: providing supplies, sharing our fundraising information with another person or company, and prayers and encouragement. All the above are more than appreciated.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I know that together we can do extraordinary things for Piersen.
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<div>The journey over the past 10 years has been overwhelming and incredible.
</div>
<div>So many people have supported us and continue to provide daily encouragement to just keep going.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And Piersen continues to amaze us with his grit, his will, his spirit, his JOY.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In advance, I am grateful for your support.
</div>
<div>Sincerely,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Tim Eaker
</div>
<div>502 College Manor Place Monmouth, IL 61462
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
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<div><br />
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>--------
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<div><br />
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<div>Over the last several months, friends and family (and strangers that we now call friends) have given so much - financially, donating supplies, and through prayer. Every single one of these = a gift to our family. Whether you have given $10 or $100 or $1,000 or $10,000 - each gift matters to us. And it matters to Piersen.
</div>
<div><br />
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<div>Through your support, we have raised enough funds for a down payment (fingers crossed - we are in this stage of the process right now and promise to keep you posted).
</div>
<div><br />
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<div>The funds that are gathered at this point and moving forward will be making the construction payment and then the mortgage payment.
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<div><br />
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<div>Honestly - asking for help is HARD. It's not how we "do things."
</div>
<div>But we're not asking for us.
</div>
<div>We're asking for Piersen.
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<div><br />
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<div>Blessings to you and your family.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
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<div>“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
</div>
<div>– Maya Angelou
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>----
</div>
<div>Ways to follow Piersen
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<div><br />
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<div>His website:
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<div><a href="https://www.piersenstrong.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.piersenstrong.org</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>He's on Facebook too:
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<div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/piersenstrong" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.facebook.com/piersenstrong</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>

Lisa Moyer

Marcia Webb

Carrie White

Anonymous

Carol Whiteman

Jason Kane

Becky Shearer Golf Outing

Angie Marshall

Gail Miller

Anonymous gift

Dawn Giddings

Joan Boney

Piersen Strong: for it is in giving that we receive

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Piersen Strong: for it is in giving that we receive

Still $48,760 to go. Help us build momentum.