Love and Prayers for the Suchomskis

On Sunday, November 29, 9-year-old Julia was found by her sister in her room, blue and unconscious. The paramedics were called immediately and she was taken to the hospital where she was intubated. Complications from the intubation caused her heart to stop, and she was able to be revived after multiple rounds of CPR. She was then airlifted to Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, where it was determined after lots of testing that her intestines had kinked which cut off blood supply. Incidentally, large portions of her intestines had died.

Julia was born with Down Syndrome and a rare brain condition which caused her to have uncontrollable seizures. She had multiple surgeries to address issues related to her Down Syndrome, and finally a right radical hemispherectomy at four months old. By the grace of God, she has been healthy and thriving since that time!

Julia has now had multiple surgeries to remove the parts of her large and small intestines that have died. She will go into surgery again on December 7, hopefully for the last time, to examine the state of her remaining intestines and see if any more needs to come out. They will also insert a G-tube to help with nutrition going forward. There is still a lot of intestinal damage, but the surgeons feel positively about how things have gone so far. They say they've seen worse cases than Julia's heal completely, which is very promising! Julia is currently in the PICU and will remain in the hospital for at least a month while we wait to see how her body is healing and how her intestines are working after the surgery. At this time, the best case scenario is that she will heal beautifully over the course of the next month, and will be able to digest food normally and go on to live a long and healthy life. It will be a lengthy healing process and we won't know the ultimate outcome of this for quite some time.

This fundraiser is being set up to help with the cost of gas (driving 110 miles round trip each day), food in the hospital and any other incidentals of having a child hospitalized for an extended period of time. It will also help cover the high cost of Julia's special diet for the next 6-12 months. Any extra funds will be used to help pay for extra therapies she may need to recover fully.

Julia is the youngest of John and Mary's 14 children and a most treasured member of their family. Their love, faith and surrender to God's most perfect will is incredibly edifying. If you cannot give financially at this time, the family is deeply appreciative of your prayers! Thank you and God bless you!