Help Kai get his walking legs

Hi my name is Angie Shipman and I’m writing this on behalf of my son Kai.

Kai Jeffery Miller was born on may 22, 2019 on Maui in Wailuku. Kai was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy at just 21 days old, due to multiple strokes from meningitis encephalitis. We were told Kai would possibly be in vegetative state do to the amount of stokes he had. As you can see he’s not. He’s constantly defining all the odds and pushing boundaries. He’s a bright young boy who has let it be known that his diagnosis will not define him.

Due to Kai’s CP, Kai suffers from significant motor delays. One of the biggest issues holding him back is he has very spastic (tight) muscle that keep him from sitting, crawling, or walking independently. Spasticity will (if untreated) cause muscle, joint and/or bone deformities as he grows, resulting in a life full of pain and corrective surgery’s.

Kai has recently been accepted for SDR surgery with Dr. Park at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri. This surgery will give Kai the opportunity to live a less painful life and give him the ability to move independently. Currently, SDR is the ONLY treatment that can eliminate or permanently reduce spasticity and Kai is a perfect candidate.

Yes, SDR changes lifes!

What is SDR?

* SDR stands for selective dorsal rhizotomy.

* It’s a spinal cord surgery for people who have spasticity. Spasticity is muscle tightness resulting from mixed-up messages between the brain and spinal nerves. 

* During SDR, the surgeon divides the spinal cord’s sensory nerves into their smaller branches, called rootlets. Then the surgeon cuts the rootlets that are most overactive, getting rid of spasticity from the waist down.

With that being said, I am a single mother on medi-cal doing my best to make ends meet and the surgery will not be covered through my insurance. I’m raising funds to help with the cost of the surgery, medications, intensive therapies after surgery (that’s when the real work starts), transportation, and accommodations to and from our home in California to St. Louis, Missouri for preop, surgery, and postop.

Together we can make impossible dreams become a reality for my sweet boy. Please consider investing yourself in the life of his today by donating or sharing. Thank you, your support will never be forgotten.

Love,

Kai and Angie