Please Support Parker Smith’s Recovery

It’s surreal facing this reality. The reality my best friend is in Hawaii with his wife and son longer than planned, but not by choice, instead because of a series of unfortunate events. Last week started out fine for them, their nearly 15 month old son was showing signs of a cold—nothing crazy—just a cold while on a family vacation. While not optimal as parents we’ve all had this happen and you just make the most of it. The week went on and things seemed normal, until late Friday, when Shane and Becki’s son, Parker (PJ), became noticeably more sick. Through the night they cared for Parker and discussed next steps if he continued to get sicker. They were in a remote part of Oahu so options were limited, but they took him to the emergency room where things quickly went from bad to worse. He was diagnosed with flu A and pneumonia, and also being worked up for sepsis. In a blink of an eye their world was turned upside down when PJ had multiple lines placed, a breathing tube put in to manage his airway, and loads of medications administered all while waiting for critical care transport to arrive and take him across the island to Honolulu to receive care.

He now lies in the PICU at a hospital in Honolulu getting amazing care while battling sepsis and complications from the flu. But, this is only the beginning for them as it’s too early to say what a timeline looks like. The love they give PJ is beautiful to watch, they absolutely love being parents. Watching them over the last year evolve into parenthood has been amazing. Becki’s a natural at being a loving, nurturing mother and I’ve never seen Shane happier than when he’s holding his son (and we’ve had a ton of memorable adventures lol), so seeing them unable to hold their baby is awful. I know they’d trade spots with him in a heartbeat.

While all of this has been like a nightmare for them, they’ve also felt the endless love from their friends and family. We’re gonna circle the wagons and do everything to make sure they’re comfortable and have all that they need so they’ve can focus their energy on loving and supporting PJ. They’re going to be in Hawaii for a while and day by day they’re figuring out their new normal.

Currently they’re working on establishing housing options with the support of the hospital and places like the Ronald McDonald house, discussing next steps with their jobs, planning meals, and preparing for the mounting medical bills. With the help of many people they’re gonna get through this and while I know they’d never ask for the help, I’m gonna go ahead and do it for them. Please donate to their GoFundMe and/or share this post to help support their journey in getting PJ healed and back home.

3/3 update: He is still intubated, however they have been slowly trying to ween him off of the machine as he was breathing over the tube. He's become a little bit more aware and has opened his eyes a few times, and also got a bit angry about the breathing tube being down his throat. He is stable, but still in critical condition. He has had a couple CT's that have been clean, however they are considering an MRI due to his eyes not being responsive to light stimuli. At this time they do not know if he has sustained any brain damage. We are holding onto the good - that he's breathing over the tube and being mad about it too. He is still sedated and receiving antibiotics. The amount of fluid draining from his chest has lessened, so we are told that is a good thing.

3/4 update:

He was able to be taken off of his Blood Pressure medication this morning. His numbers are all looking really good and the swelling in his body has gone down a lot.

He's biting at his tube so we know he's still a feisty little fella. He's been able to get some breastmilk through his feeding tube, so we know he's loving that! He has been opening his eyes more, fighting through the sedation, and he grips our hands at times - my strong baby boy. We're hopeful that he will be extubated within the next few days.

If you wish to bypass gofundme, you may send to their Venmo:

Shane - @byshanesmith Last 4: 8353

Becki - @beckimeinhold Last 4: 0664