Fuel Owen's Fight Against CVI

Hello! My name is Autumn and I’ve created this GoFundMe fundraiser to help support my grandson, Owen. This little guy is a miracle baby. You see, he began life 2 years ago with a pretty rare condition when he was born with part of his brain outside of his skull.

He had a successful brain surgery hours after birth, and has exceeded all of his team of doctor’s expectations. Back then his doctors were unsure of how his developmental path would unfold, but this sweet boy continues to work hard for his PT, OT, and Speech therapists, as well as for his parents who have taken great steps to set up a successful, developmentally appropriate environment for Owen. Despite this very positive outcome, we do know that Owen’s vision is impaired. He has been diagnosed with a cortical visual impairment, otherwise known as CVI.

Click here to learn more about CVI

Owen could not have been blessed with better parents! Michael and Jade have poured so much unconditional love, patience, and joy into this precious baby and have become such wonderful advocates. They both work so hard to educate themselves about how CVI is and will continue to impact Owen and share that information with family members and caregivers to ensure Owen is not only safe, secure, and happy, but also to help him thrive and reach his highest potential. What they are doing is working as his vision continues to improve. I have been in awe of his growth and the pure joy inside this kiddo is simply undeniable. I have no doubt that he is destined to do great things in his life.

In their ever present quest to learn all they can about how to best support Owen, Michael and Jade have been granted a scholarship from the Perkins School for the Blind to attend a national CVI Conference later this month. Michael and Jade are looking forward to learning from medical and education experts in the CVI field along with having the opportunity to meet other parents of children with CVI, something that they haven’t been able to do as of yet. While this scholarship covered a large portion of the conference tickets, there are many other expenses involved for them to attend. The conference is in Boston, a 13 hour drive from Indy. The cost of lodging at the hotel conference venue, admission tickets, gasoline, plus incidentals like parking fees and food quickly adds up. Jade said that if they can learn even one new thing that helps make them better parents, it could change Owen’s life for the better, then the cost would be worth it.

So many people have asked how they can help support Owen. Through the help and love of family and friends, hundreds of people in multiple states across America have prayed for this young boy and his family. Many have asked what more they can do to help. I am starting this fundraiser to help offset the cost of attending the conference for Owen’s parents. My hope is they can go and soak up all the new knowledge and give the experts their full attention without having to worry about the financial side of things.

Please help make this special opportunity less of a financial burden and assist Michael and Jade with building a stronger CVI knowledge base. Your generosity will enable these rockstar parents to come back home with greater insight and more strategies to help Owen overcome his CVI. Thanks in advance for your financial support and continued prayers! It takes a village and we glad you are a part of ours! ♥️