Hello. My name is Ashley. I'm Pharaoh's mom. About a year ago, Pharaoh began complaining of pain in his right leg and belly. Over 5 weeks he progressed to a point that he was no longer able to stand up straight or walk very far without his legs getting very tired and giving out on him. He was losing weight, had fevers daily and having pain on a daily basis. He finally had a MRI which showed he had a rare infection in his psoas muscle and that it had spread in to his hips and vertebrae in his lower back. He had a PICC line put in and was immediately started on IV antibiotics. Over the next 6 months, he continued with the daily IV antibiotic and had regular blood tests and MRIs to monitor the infection. Over this time we watched him improve to a point he was pretty much back to his regular activity level and wasn't having any pain anymore. The decision was made at the end of May to stop the antibiotic as his blood work was continuously within normal range. Fast forward to fathers day, Pharaoh complained of pain in his hip and belly. We notified his pediatrician of this and were advised to keep an eye on things. He didn't complain of pain anymore for a few days then it began coming back periodically over the next couple weeks, mostly in the evening or after a busy day, then, all of a sudden it was back again daily along with the fever and him being unable to stand up straight. His pediatrician had us bring him to the hospital in Fredericton where a MRI was performed and blood tested. The MRI showed that the abscess that was in his vertebrae was still there, even though all other areas were cleared up. He was admitted at that time for 1 weeks, had a PICC put back in and back on IV antibiotics. We were then transferred to iwk where he was admitted for another 2 weeks during which time multiple tests were run including a biopsy. As the results of the biopsy came back they were all negative. We were discharged and sent home with the IV antibiotic to continue as we waited for blood tests to gradually come back including genetic testing and looking for rare autoimmune disorders, which were also all coming back negative. In September, Pharaoh began complaining of pain in his left leg, which he never had before. At first it was just a couple times a week then gradually it became daily. Another MRI was ordered. He has the MRI November 6th. It showed the abscess in his vertebrae has now grown by almost a cm in both length and diameter since his last MRI in July, despite still being on the IV antibiotic and was now pushing on his kidneys and his left kidney was enlarged. A plan was made by iwk to admit him on the 18th for surgical intervention. Over last weekend, his pain became unmanageable at home and he was now getting fevers again so I brought him to our local hospital. After consultation with iwk a decision was made to admit him right away so we drove down on remembrance day. He so far has a multitude of blood work as he is now anemic and his clotting factors are abnormal. He's had another MRI and has a full body MRI scheduled for the following week and yesterday he under went a second biopsy, this time removing pieces of bone along with contents of the abscess, muscle and other tissues. We are awaiting these results hoping something shows up this time. We will have to remain here at iwk for an unknown amount of time which means I am unable to work as I am here with him. Funds would go towards bills and and travel or related costs we endure while here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any donations, our family really appreciates it.