Help with Darren McQuades Medical Care

Our son Darren was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy 5 years ago at the age of 4. Duchenne is a serious and terminal illness. It has no cure and the progression of the disease is different for everyone. Recently Darren’s medical needs and care have increased drastically. Weekly trips to Boston Childrens Hospital and a recent diagnosis of severe heart failure have compounded our needs as a family.

I had to leave my job back in September to take on the daily tasks of caring for Darren.

Tasks including:

-transporting Darren and his wheelchair to and from school

-meeting Darren’s increased physical needs

-coordinating dozens of appointments a week

-in-person and telehealth appointments

-acquiring medical equipment

-receiving medication shipments

-lawyer consultations

-appealing insurance

-special training for medical emergencies

-overseeing at-home care and infusions

-frequent long distance travel for testing, appointments and treatment.

All of this has meant that we have racked up debt and become behind on bills and more. On top of that there are necessary and quality-of-life items that we require for Darren for his safety, comfort, and happiness.

We are starting this Gofundme to cover the following:

-Past due credit card bills

-Hotels and travel costs.

-Lawyer Bills (getting him the care and accommodations he needs is always a battle!)

-Specialty Equipment that Insurance doesn’t cover such as: anti-choking device, handicap accessible vehicle, adaptable seating, travel accommodations, etc.

Quality of life aids that insurance doesn't cover such as:

All-terrain stroller. We can’t even take Darren on family walks right now as his wheelchair can’t make it over any sort of crack or gravel. We would like to be able to take him to nature sanctuaries as well.

All of these necessary aids and quality of life aids will change as Darren’s condition changes, getting much more specialized and expensive with time.

We will also have an Amazon wishlist for Darren if you feel more comfortable buying items we need directly. We will also include items Darren wants if you want to buy Darren a birthday, holiday, or anytime gift. (His birthday is May 13th)

We've all been through alot with Covid so please only donate if you can afford to do so. Even sharing is very helpful, please share anywhere you can. Thank you for taking the time to read this, we appreciate you!