Hello, I’m Bradyn’s Aunt Julie, and I created this fundraiser to support my sister, Jill, and her children. As you may know, Bradyn was born at 29 weeks and with many medical complications. He has autism and cognitive delays. One of his diagnoses is hydrocephalus, which means too much cerebrospinal fluids collects in his brain. Bradyn had a shunt placed in his brain/abdomen when he was 10 months old. The shunt drains the excess fluid. Without this medical intervention, hydrocephalus is deadly.
On 2/17/25, Jill took Bradyn to the ED at Riley because she had observed signs of shunt malfunction (excess sleeping) for a few days. He was immediately admitted and had emergency surgery that same day to replace his shunt. Bradyn was in the hospital until 2/20/25. He went home with a gnarly wound from the 14 stitches in his head.
Over the last three weeks, Bradyn has had three different appointments with Neuro at Riley to follow up on the surgery. One was routine. One was due to concerns about wound infection, and the doctor prescribed oral antibiotics. His wound continued to worsen, and his third visit was an emergency visit on 3/11/25. The doctor immediately admitted Bradyn and he had another emergency surgery on the same day to remove all the shunt hardware from
his brain and abdomen. He currently has a temporary drain, which requires a hospital tech to sit by his bedside 24/7 to manage the flow of the fluid to avoid it draining too quickly and causing further issues.
The cultures are showing positive for Pseudomonas, a bacterial infection. Infectious Disease said that Bradyn will need 7-14 days of IV antibiotics for the infection to clear up. It is considered very serious since the infection was in the shunt in his brain.
Neuro is going to do some testing under close observation to determine if Bradyn is still shunt dependent, or if the hydrocephalus has resolved. If he will need reshunted, that cannot happen until the infection is completely cleared. He will spend a few more days in the hospital for recovery post surgery.
Bradyn’s parents have been by his bedside since he was admitted. Because of his autism and limitations with communication, a family member must always be there to provide support.
My sister has exhausted all her PTO from her job. She was already several days short on pay from his first admission, and now we are looking at likely 2+ weeks for this admission. The money raised will support her monthly bills (mortgage, insurance, utilities, etc.), along with assisting with gas costs associated with traveling back and forth between Terre Haute and Indianapolis for multiple appointments and admissions, and costs of food while they are staying in the hospital.
Anything helps. My sister is an incredible mother and would do anything to support her children. I am hoping this financial assistance will help relieve one stressor.