Joanna (aka Jo) here! I am reaching out to my friends and family in the jiu jitsu community to help raise funds for my dear friend Shane and his family for their baby Terence who suffered a significant brain injury at birth. His family will need continued medical support for Terence, and therapy that is not covered by health insurance

Background:

After being hospitalized in September for early labor, Alex gave birth to Terence on October 4th via emergency C-section.  He was without oxygen for an unknown amount of time in the womb, leading him to suffer acute brain damage. Unresponsive at birth, he was resuscitated after multiple attempts and immediately intubated.  Due to his injury, he had next to zero brain activity for nearly 2 days and spent the next 3 months fighting for his life.  His NICU stay was extended for weeks after a surgical error in the placement of his feeding tube led to multiple infections.

Terence finally broke out of the NICU after 105 days, and has been enjoying lots of love at home. The severity of his injury (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy) and the unknowns of his future have been incredibly challenging for us to grapple with.  Our best chance to help him recover lies in early intervention and aggressive therapy, but most of these providers do not accept insurance.

We are so grateful to every one of you, and to this amazing community.  Thank you for giving Terence a fighting chance.