Davis's fund
Donation protected
Dear Family and Friends,
Our sweet Davis is fast approaching his 32nd surgery on 2/16/15. He was born with scoliosis that has been monitored very closely since birth. He has had a normal 12 going on 13 year old growth spurt and the upper lumbar curve has reached over 50 degrees very rapidly. This curvature is effecting his lungs as they are only functioning at 70% and will eventually also effect his heart. Davis was born with multiple conditions; arthrogryposis, polymicrogyria and Dandy Walker Syndrome. When he was born, we told Davis from the beginning that the sky is limit and boy has he shown us all! He continues to amaze us with his progress on a a daily basis and his positive attitude and spirit light up every room and touch everyone he meets! When making the decision to put in Davis's feeding tube in August 2002, I looked at Dr. Uritis and said "how can we handle this? This is too much for him and for us!" Her response is cemented in our hearts and carries us through every day. She said "This is a tough decision and we will be faced with many more decisions like these in Davis's life. They are just going to get bigger with age, but your experiences, faith, strength and love will get you through them." She sure was right!! Each bump in the road with Davis has been a little bigger and hurts, but we get up and keep on going. When Davis hear Dr. Robert Fitch say that he was going to grow after the surgery, Davis immediately said, "Awesome, I am going to grow!!!!!" Such an amazing child always looking on the bright side of life!
We went to Duke to see Dr. Fitch for a check up on his hips in January. To our surprise the visit quickly turned away from his hips an right to his spine. His right dislocated hip is unchanged and was possibly causing him discomfort from growing pains, to be treated with Advil or Tylenol as needed. Dr Fitch and his resident very professionally explained that the curvature of Davis's spine had drastically changed so we got the ball rolling immediately. Within minutes we had the surgery scheduled during a week where Dan is on vacation and my parents and sister, Maud, are able to come from Virginia to tag team and hold down the fort in Holly Springs with Mollie and sweet puppy Mocha.
The surgery is at Duke Hospital on Monday, February 16 and is scheduled to last a minimum of 5-6 hours. As with Davis's previous 31 surgeries, we never know what to expect from him as his body adjusts to the procedure, anesthesia and pain. He will be transferred to the PICU for monitoring and blood transfusion for at least 24 hours. We are so pleased that Dan was able to donate a unit of blood for Davis! Dr. Robert Fitch will place two permanent rods in his spine as well as fuse multiple vertebrae. They have a "plan" based on his x-rays, but will not be able to make definitive decisions until they are inside and able to physically see his anatomy.
Davis will be at Duke for at least 5-6 days and more than likely longer. He has a hard time waking up from surgery and narcotics are not his best friend. They have to be used with much caution as they have caused problems in the past. He will miss at least 4-5 weeks of school (he is in 7th grade at Holly Ridge Middle School) and will gradually return to school for short periods of time for 4-5 more weeks. We are meeting with his amazing team of teachers on Friday to discuss his at home plan to keep him on par with his A Honor Roll status. He is such a smart child and loves loves loves school.
We ask for your continued prayers for Davis over the next 2-3 months. We will use this site to post updates and will link this to our Facebook pages as well. Thank you for surrounding Davis with your love.
Many of you are asking "How can I help?" As many of you know Davis uses his iPad for many different things. His 3 year old iPad no longer hold a charge and we are hoping to raise money to surprise a Davis with a new one to help him after his surgery. This will be a great distraction when he will be in so much pain! Many of you are helping the family by bringing by meals which they are so happy about. Some are asking to do more. Many are too far away to offer meals but still want to help. Any amount donated will go directly to help Davis get his new iPad which will no longer have to be continually plugged in. Every little bit helps!
Thank you and much love!
Our sweet Davis is fast approaching his 32nd surgery on 2/16/15. He was born with scoliosis that has been monitored very closely since birth. He has had a normal 12 going on 13 year old growth spurt and the upper lumbar curve has reached over 50 degrees very rapidly. This curvature is effecting his lungs as they are only functioning at 70% and will eventually also effect his heart. Davis was born with multiple conditions; arthrogryposis, polymicrogyria and Dandy Walker Syndrome. When he was born, we told Davis from the beginning that the sky is limit and boy has he shown us all! He continues to amaze us with his progress on a a daily basis and his positive attitude and spirit light up every room and touch everyone he meets! When making the decision to put in Davis's feeding tube in August 2002, I looked at Dr. Uritis and said "how can we handle this? This is too much for him and for us!" Her response is cemented in our hearts and carries us through every day. She said "This is a tough decision and we will be faced with many more decisions like these in Davis's life. They are just going to get bigger with age, but your experiences, faith, strength and love will get you through them." She sure was right!! Each bump in the road with Davis has been a little bigger and hurts, but we get up and keep on going. When Davis hear Dr. Robert Fitch say that he was going to grow after the surgery, Davis immediately said, "Awesome, I am going to grow!!!!!" Such an amazing child always looking on the bright side of life!
We went to Duke to see Dr. Fitch for a check up on his hips in January. To our surprise the visit quickly turned away from his hips an right to his spine. His right dislocated hip is unchanged and was possibly causing him discomfort from growing pains, to be treated with Advil or Tylenol as needed. Dr Fitch and his resident very professionally explained that the curvature of Davis's spine had drastically changed so we got the ball rolling immediately. Within minutes we had the surgery scheduled during a week where Dan is on vacation and my parents and sister, Maud, are able to come from Virginia to tag team and hold down the fort in Holly Springs with Mollie and sweet puppy Mocha.
The surgery is at Duke Hospital on Monday, February 16 and is scheduled to last a minimum of 5-6 hours. As with Davis's previous 31 surgeries, we never know what to expect from him as his body adjusts to the procedure, anesthesia and pain. He will be transferred to the PICU for monitoring and blood transfusion for at least 24 hours. We are so pleased that Dan was able to donate a unit of blood for Davis! Dr. Robert Fitch will place two permanent rods in his spine as well as fuse multiple vertebrae. They have a "plan" based on his x-rays, but will not be able to make definitive decisions until they are inside and able to physically see his anatomy.
Davis will be at Duke for at least 5-6 days and more than likely longer. He has a hard time waking up from surgery and narcotics are not his best friend. They have to be used with much caution as they have caused problems in the past. He will miss at least 4-5 weeks of school (he is in 7th grade at Holly Ridge Middle School) and will gradually return to school for short periods of time for 4-5 more weeks. We are meeting with his amazing team of teachers on Friday to discuss his at home plan to keep him on par with his A Honor Roll status. He is such a smart child and loves loves loves school.
We ask for your continued prayers for Davis over the next 2-3 months. We will use this site to post updates and will link this to our Facebook pages as well. Thank you for surrounding Davis with your love.
Many of you are asking "How can I help?" As many of you know Davis uses his iPad for many different things. His 3 year old iPad no longer hold a charge and we are hoping to raise money to surprise a Davis with a new one to help him after his surgery. This will be a great distraction when he will be in so much pain! Many of you are helping the family by bringing by meals which they are so happy about. Some are asking to do more. Many are too far away to offer meals but still want to help. Any amount donated will go directly to help Davis get his new iPad which will no longer have to be continually plugged in. Every little bit helps!
Thank you and much love!
Organizer
Tania Tafilowski
Organizer
Holly Springs, NC