George Ford

On December 23, 2019, two-year-old George Ford was at home where he unexpectedly went unconscious, lost all his tone, was unresponsive, and then experienced respiratory arrest.  He was transported via ambulance to the ER , and then admitted to USACW Hospital. While there, he was diagnosed with a respiratory virus, and then sent home to recover on Christmas Eve.

Then on December 29th, December 30th, and January 2nd, George again experienced episodes, lasting five minutes, that included a loss of tone, being unconscious, and being unresponsive. On January 2nd,  he was admitted to Sacred Heart in Pensacola, FL,  for a neurological assessment. There he underwent continuous EEG monitoring for five days, a CT scan and MRI of the brain.

The morning of January 7th, George had another episode like the three previous ones. The family was then informed his EEG was abnormal, and it was recommended that he be transported via ambulance to Children’s Hospital of Alabama (UAB) in Birmingham,  AL.  He arrived early in the morning on January 8th.  While admitted he had a MRI of the spine, a lumbar puncture for spinal fluid, a sleep study,  and multiple rounds of genetic testing/ blood work, and was again on EEG for another 2.5 days. There it was discovered he has an abnormality of the spinal cord. The doctors are not 100% sure what this means, and are waiting on genetics tests results.  George was eventually discharged on January 13th. The family has multiple follow up appointments at UAB/Children’s of Alabama with pulmonary, neurology, neurosurgery, and neuromuscular specialists.

There will be significant expenses for medical bills, meals, and travel that the family has and will incur while trying to obtain a final diagnosis and treatment plan.

Thank you for your your prayers and support.