Shelton Strong

On Monday, January 7th we transported our son, Shelton, to the children’s hospital in Orlando because of high fevers and vomiting. What I hoped was just a stomach bug has turned out to be bacterial ventricular meningitis. Shelton has a brain shunt that has become infected leading to the meningitis, which is a very painful and severe infection. We are so thankful to have caught it early enough that we were able to avoid a life threatening situation but unfortunately he will have a 3-4 week hospital stay. He had surgery on Thursday, January 10th to remove the infected shunt hardware and has to have an EVD (external ventricle drain) for 2-3 weeks while he is on strong IV  antibiotics. Once the antibiotics are complete he will have to undergo another surgery to put in a new brain shunt. This is definitely placing a financial burden on our family due the the distance we live from the hospital ( 1.5-2 hours depending on traffic.) As much as I wish I could stay with Shelton at the hospital I will have to leave him to travel back and forth to work. With also having our 3 month old, Lilah, my husband nor I can afford to miss a month of work. Many have asked how they can help during this difficult time and the main thing we need is financial assistance so I can reduce my working hours to be by Shelton’s side to help guide him through this recovery process.

Shelton is a very special kid with very special needs and I feel he needs me at his side to be his advocate as much as possible. He needs a voice and I am his voice. It is hard for me to ask for help but I feel strongly that Shelton will be better cared for and heal faster if I’m at his side. Anything will help and is greatly appreciated. As always we welcome all the prayers we can get so please keep our sweet son in your thoughts and prayers.