I have created this gofundme on behalf of my brother and sister in law, and the entire Premeaux Family. Dayton is in critical condition. As the Drs are struggling to get his symptoms under control, this family is on the brink of disaster. They are unable to leave his side. They risk losing their home and everything in between. Please, if you have it to spare, please give what you can. Dayton has lost so much, he cannot lose his home as well. Please help and please pray.

UPDATE:

Dayton had a partial response to the Ativan! He has officially been diagnosed with Catatonia!!

What Is Catatonia? What This Means for Dayton’s Life Moving Forward

Most people have never heard of it. I hadn’t either, not until I was watching my child disappear in front of me.

Catatonia is a rare but life-threatening brain-body disorder. It isn’t just “not moving” or “zoning out”.

It’s the body shutting down communication, movement, and function while appearing frozen, agitated, or both. It’s terrifying. And for those with developmental disabilities, it’s often missed or dismissed as behavioral.

Dayton had been showing signs:

withdrawal, rigid posturing, mutism, grimacing, cold limbs, even blood pooling and we were begging someone to see it. After fighting for months/years, he was finally given a lorazepam (Ativan) challenge, and he responded.

That one response may have saved his life.

From here on out, he will be monitored 24/7 and receive scheduled doses of Ativan every 6 hours. We are not out of the woods. If the medication stops working or symptoms return, we may have to escalate to ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) which is actually the safest and most effective treatment when benzodiazepines fail.

Catatonia is not psychological. It’s not behavioral. It’s neurological, medical, and dangerous. Left untreated, it has a 50% fatality rate. But treated? Children like Dayton can come back to us.

We don’t know yet what his recovery will look like, or how this will affect his daily life long-term. But we do know this:

He is still breathing.

He is still fighting.

And I am not letting go.

Thank you for every prayer, every message, every bit of love. It’s working.

#CatatoniaAwareness #DisabilityIsNotBehavior #DaytonStrong #MedicalCrisis #RareButReal #KeepFighting #ProtectDayton