My name is Helen Watt and I have set up this GoFundMe campaign to help my friends, the Short family, fundraise to purchase a new wheelchair accessible van for their youngest child, Logan. The Short family never asks anyone for help but are often the first to offer help to others. I can say with certainty that an accessible van will make a huge difference in the lives of this amazing family.
Here is their story, in the words of mom, Brenda:
We are the Short family and we live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My husband Aaron and I have been married for almost 20 years and we have three wonderful children. Our Daughter Hayley is 18, our son Mason is 16, and Logan was 14 on April 2nd.
We found out midway through my pregnancy that Logan would have medical issues and that there was a chance he may not survive. Logan was born via scheduled c-section 3 weeks early, he was the biggest kid in the NICU at 8 pounds 11 ounces. Logan has always been a fighter, even in his early days he would pull his IV and other tubes out. Logan spent his first 20 days in hospital being assessed by several different teams and departments.
When we finally got to bring him home he had a feeding tube because he had trouble eating. On the 4th day of being home, Logan pulled out his feeding tube, and since I was by myself I had to wait for Aaron to get home so that we could re insert the tube as we had been taught prior to leaving the hospital. Logan ate very well without his tube in and after it was put back in it took him 6 hours to eat 3 ounces. We decided to remove his tube entirely and haven't look back. Logan has had numerous hospital stays and procedures, he has had severe allergic reactions, H1N1, and possible seizures.
Logan has L1Cam Syndrome, a rare genetic abnormality on the X Chromosome that appears in boys, while Hydrocephalus appears in both boys and girls. Some of the effects of L1Cam are Aphasia, which is difficulty with speaking, adducted thumbs, meaning they’re clasped towards the palm, spasticity of the lower limbs and muscle stiffness, and also some mental restrictions. L1Cam affects approximately 1 in 30,000 boys. There are less than a dozen known cases of L1Cam in Canada, and Logan is the only one in Atlantic provinces. He has a VP shunt that was placed just 3 days after he was born and he has been extremely fortunate to have not needed another surgery for it to be revised or replaced as of yet. Each case of L1Cam presents differently (even in the case of siblings) Logan has also been very fortunate that he does not have as many health issues as some of the boys we know.
Logan has been followed by many clinics at the IWK Children’s Hospital since his birth and he continues to have regular Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy because of his low levels of muscle tone in his lower extremities. In 2016, we discovered that Logan's hips were dislocating and going back into place without us realizing it. Once that was discovered Logan underwent Bi-lateral hip surgery. His recovery took longer than normal due to his muscle spasticity issues, but after two years he was able to start using a Gait trainer to build his muscle tone in the hopes that he may some day be able to walk unassisted. He is now able to stand for a few seconds in order to assist his caretakers with transferring him in and out of his wheelchair.
Logan is also non-verbal and is followed by Speech Language therapy and Alternative Augmentative Communication. He is working on using a picture book to communicate, with the hopes of transferring to an iPAD. He was also diagnosed with Cortical Visual impairment and is followed by Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA) to ensure that his vision remains consistent.
From the time we brought Logan home we decided that we would do our best to show his siblings, Hayley and Mason, that having a child with a disability is not the end of the world. Logan has always been included in whatever we did as a family. we just adjusted and planned accordingly. Some of our adventures have included camping, cross country running, skating, touring a mine, exploring southern Newfoundland in an outboard motorboat, riding on Thomas the Train, going to water parks, having bonfires on the beach and taking many road trips (from Newfoundland to Ontario and all points in between)
Logan was also in Beavers and Cubs and did many activities and camps. He even got to attend the Canadian National Scouting Jamboree here in Nova Scotia in 2017. Logan took part in Making Waves/S.W.A.M swim programs and is currently playing baseball with the Bedford Challenger Baseball team.
As you can tell we are a very active family, and now that Logan is getting bigger it is important to us that he still be able to participate but our current van just does not work for us and especially for Logan.
Today, Logan is a happy and healthy almost 14-year-old who, despite everything, loves to get together with friends and go on adventures. Of course, like all teenagers, he is getting bigger (4’6” and 100 Pounds) and lifting him in and out of a vehicle is extremely difficult.
A new accessible van is not feasible for us at this time so we are fundraising to help offset the cost. An accessible van will allow us to continue going on family adventures together.
Any donation will be very much appreciated and if you aren’t able to donate, please consider sharing the link to this fundraiser so that we can reach as many people as possible.
Thank you for reading our story.
-The Short family
Here is their story, in the words of mom, Brenda:
We are the Short family and we live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My husband Aaron and I have been married for almost 20 years and we have three wonderful children. Our Daughter Hayley is 18, our son Mason is 16, and Logan was 14 on April 2nd.
We found out midway through my pregnancy that Logan would have medical issues and that there was a chance he may not survive. Logan was born via scheduled c-section 3 weeks early, he was the biggest kid in the NICU at 8 pounds 11 ounces. Logan has always been a fighter, even in his early days he would pull his IV and other tubes out. Logan spent his first 20 days in hospital being assessed by several different teams and departments.
When we finally got to bring him home he had a feeding tube because he had trouble eating. On the 4th day of being home, Logan pulled out his feeding tube, and since I was by myself I had to wait for Aaron to get home so that we could re insert the tube as we had been taught prior to leaving the hospital. Logan ate very well without his tube in and after it was put back in it took him 6 hours to eat 3 ounces. We decided to remove his tube entirely and haven't look back. Logan has had numerous hospital stays and procedures, he has had severe allergic reactions, H1N1, and possible seizures.
Logan has L1Cam Syndrome, a rare genetic abnormality on the X Chromosome that appears in boys, while Hydrocephalus appears in both boys and girls. Some of the effects of L1Cam are Aphasia, which is difficulty with speaking, adducted thumbs, meaning they’re clasped towards the palm, spasticity of the lower limbs and muscle stiffness, and also some mental restrictions. L1Cam affects approximately 1 in 30,000 boys. There are less than a dozen known cases of L1Cam in Canada, and Logan is the only one in Atlantic provinces. He has a VP shunt that was placed just 3 days after he was born and he has been extremely fortunate to have not needed another surgery for it to be revised or replaced as of yet. Each case of L1Cam presents differently (even in the case of siblings) Logan has also been very fortunate that he does not have as many health issues as some of the boys we know.
Logan has been followed by many clinics at the IWK Children’s Hospital since his birth and he continues to have regular Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy because of his low levels of muscle tone in his lower extremities. In 2016, we discovered that Logan's hips were dislocating and going back into place without us realizing it. Once that was discovered Logan underwent Bi-lateral hip surgery. His recovery took longer than normal due to his muscle spasticity issues, but after two years he was able to start using a Gait trainer to build his muscle tone in the hopes that he may some day be able to walk unassisted. He is now able to stand for a few seconds in order to assist his caretakers with transferring him in and out of his wheelchair.
Logan is also non-verbal and is followed by Speech Language therapy and Alternative Augmentative Communication. He is working on using a picture book to communicate, with the hopes of transferring to an iPAD. He was also diagnosed with Cortical Visual impairment and is followed by Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA) to ensure that his vision remains consistent.
From the time we brought Logan home we decided that we would do our best to show his siblings, Hayley and Mason, that having a child with a disability is not the end of the world. Logan has always been included in whatever we did as a family. we just adjusted and planned accordingly. Some of our adventures have included camping, cross country running, skating, touring a mine, exploring southern Newfoundland in an outboard motorboat, riding on Thomas the Train, going to water parks, having bonfires on the beach and taking many road trips (from Newfoundland to Ontario and all points in between)
Logan was also in Beavers and Cubs and did many activities and camps. He even got to attend the Canadian National Scouting Jamboree here in Nova Scotia in 2017. Logan took part in Making Waves/S.W.A.M swim programs and is currently playing baseball with the Bedford Challenger Baseball team.
As you can tell we are a very active family, and now that Logan is getting bigger it is important to us that he still be able to participate but our current van just does not work for us and especially for Logan.
Today, Logan is a happy and healthy almost 14-year-old who, despite everything, loves to get together with friends and go on adventures. Of course, like all teenagers, he is getting bigger (4’6” and 100 Pounds) and lifting him in and out of a vehicle is extremely difficult.
A new accessible van is not feasible for us at this time so we are fundraising to help offset the cost. An accessible van will allow us to continue going on family adventures together.
Any donation will be very much appreciated and if you aren’t able to donate, please consider sharing the link to this fundraiser so that we can reach as many people as possible.
Thank you for reading our story.
-The Short family