Help Abel Ray
Donation protected
On February 14th we took our handsome boy Abel Ray Ruppel to have his 4 month visit and get some shots. We were prepared for some discomfort and fussiness but nothing could prepare us for what we learned that day..
During the appointment we asked about the excessive tearing and sensitivity to light he had been showing for the last couple of weeks leading up to the appointment and the "cloudy" appearance of his eyes at times and his pediatrician thought it looked like infant cataracts so she referred us to Vold Vision in Fayetteville for an examination that same day. Through some tests and exams we learned that our beautiful baby boy has a very rare condition called Primary Congenital Glaucoma in both eyes that, left untreated, would continue to damage his optic nerves resulting in complete and irreversible blindness. This condition effects only 1 in 10,000 babies in the US.
Naturally, this diagnosis has been completely devastating for us.. The thought of my our baby boy being held back from anything he wants in life hurts me so much. Even as I write this, I fight back tears... As a parent, you never want to see your children hurt or struggle. As his father, I want nothing more than to take it all from him and bear it, so that he doesn't have to. But I can't..
We met with the pediatric eye surgeon at Arkansas Childrens in Little Rock and it seems the only treatment that will help Abel at this time is trabeculotomy surgery . The surgeon told us that there will be several of these surgeries likely within the next few months to help control the pressures in his eyes and relieve his optic nerves.
Your donation will assist us with the two costly surgeries he has scheduled in the next two weeks as well as time off work during his recovery. No donation is too small! Our out of pocket max for insurance is $11,200 and we expect so see that number in the first two-three surgeries.
Please consider sharing this post as well!
If you are unable to donate, we just ask for some words of encouragement to help us through this difficult time. Thank you so very much!
Valentines with big sister <3
During the appointment we asked about the excessive tearing and sensitivity to light he had been showing for the last couple of weeks leading up to the appointment and the "cloudy" appearance of his eyes at times and his pediatrician thought it looked like infant cataracts so she referred us to Vold Vision in Fayetteville for an examination that same day. Through some tests and exams we learned that our beautiful baby boy has a very rare condition called Primary Congenital Glaucoma in both eyes that, left untreated, would continue to damage his optic nerves resulting in complete and irreversible blindness. This condition effects only 1 in 10,000 babies in the US.
Naturally, this diagnosis has been completely devastating for us.. The thought of my our baby boy being held back from anything he wants in life hurts me so much. Even as I write this, I fight back tears... As a parent, you never want to see your children hurt or struggle. As his father, I want nothing more than to take it all from him and bear it, so that he doesn't have to. But I can't..
We met with the pediatric eye surgeon at Arkansas Childrens in Little Rock and it seems the only treatment that will help Abel at this time is trabeculotomy surgery . The surgeon told us that there will be several of these surgeries likely within the next few months to help control the pressures in his eyes and relieve his optic nerves.
Your donation will assist us with the two costly surgeries he has scheduled in the next two weeks as well as time off work during his recovery. No donation is too small! Our out of pocket max for insurance is $11,200 and we expect so see that number in the first two-three surgeries.
Please consider sharing this post as well!
If you are unable to donate, we just ask for some words of encouragement to help us through this difficult time. Thank you so very much!
Valentines with big sister <3 Fundraising team: Fundraiser Team (2)
Kris Ruppel
Organizer
Springdale, AR
Toree Ruppel
Team member
