Mighty Maddox: Journey To Walk

Hi everyone!

First off, we'd like to thank you for being here and taking the time to read our story. We hope you will help support Maddox's journey by donating, sharing his story or with thoughts and prayers for him and our family as we continue to navigate this unexpected world.

I'll start from the beginning for those who may not be familiar with our story. At 26 weeks pregnant I arrived at the L&D floor to get checked out for minor abdominal cramping and, although I was sure it was nothing, I figured "better safe than sorry". Fast-forward about an hour and I was told I was fully dilated, baby was breech and we were going into an emergency c-section. Maddox was delivered at 12:51 a.m. on December 15th, 2021 and was directly admitted to the NICU. Due to the abrupt nature of his birth, my spontaneous labor is presumed to be the result of an incompetent cervix. Maddox spent the next 3 months battling various challenges in the NICU including a severe pulmonary hemorrhage, bilateral intraventricular hemorrhages, 2 rounds of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) (both resulting in bowel surgeries) and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Since his discharge from the NICU, Maddox's biggest challenges are his diagnoses of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), Acquired Short Bowel Syndrome and epilepsy.

Due to Maddox's complex medical history, we have been told it is likely he may never walk and would require a wheelchair for general mobility. While we are actively addressing all of Maddox's diagnoses, our primary mission for this fundraiser is to provide him with every opportunity to achieve his greatest potential for mobility. Currently, all proceeds from his fundraisers will go directly towards the purchase of his Trexo Robotic Gait Trainer which we are scheduled to receive around January 2024. Another promising device that we are looking forward to is the SpineX SCiP. While this device is currently in clinical trials and not yet on the market, the results they are seeing speak for themselves and we are hopeful that future funding can go towards getting Maddox access to this program. Both the Trexo and SCiP are changing the lives of children who battle cerebral palsy and we would love nothing more than to see these changes in our own little man.