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Hi, we are AJ & Johan, uncles to Shadow. Shadow's a brave, smart young man who just turned 15. His uncles recently introduced him to and bought him his first Magic: the Gathering card game set, and he also loves Dungeons and Dragons, riding his bike, anime & manga comics, and watching Tik Tok videos. Here are some pictures of Shadow & his family:
(Shadow & AJ at Valleyfair in 2019)
(Left to right: AJ, Great-grandma, Mom, & Shadow three summers ago)
(AJ & Shadow sporting some very stylish protective eyewear during our road trip to Nebraska to view the Great American Eclipse of 2017. We all experienced our first traffic jam in a cornfield that year!)
(Shadow, AJ, & Johan during the eclipse.)
Now that you've gotten to know us a bit better, here's how things came off the rails for Shadow and our family: A week or so ago, Shadow started feeling unwell. His symptoms were consistent with a mild case of COVID-19. None of us, his Mom included, were too worried and like the vast majority of kids, we thought he'd get well soon and that would be that. We were so wrong.
Saturday morning (3/6/21), our nephew took a turn for the worse. Knowing something was wrong, Mom took him to the ER in Pipestone. Apparently only just in time, as they quickly found out.
While his body was winning the battle against the virus itself, it damaged his organs, including his lungs, kidneys, and pancreas. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and acidosis, a life-threatening condition that could result in multiple total organ failures. Given the nature of the emergency, he was airlifted from Pipestone to Sioux Falls, where the doctors also discovered that the damage to his pancreas triggered juvenile diabetes.
While it was touch and go for a while, Shadow is recovering and will be released from the hospital soon. Unfortunately, he and his mom will be stuck with managing at least one chronic condition, requiring daily insulin injections and other medication. In addition to that, Mom will be responsible for what will undoubtedly be an expensive bill for the ER, an air ambulance flight and his stay in the Sioux Falls ICU. While she has insurance, we do not anticipate that they will cover more than 80% of the cost. So Mom will be responsible for a $5,000 deductible and then 20% of everything after that.
We need your help to make sure this doesn't cost Shadow and his Mom their financial future. Here's what your donations will go towards, and a rough order for the priority we will be paying it out:
•Paying for insulin and other supplies and medications needed to manage for Shadow's diabetes.
•Paying the $5,000 deductible.
•Paying for the 20% of his hospitalization costs.
•Paying for the portion of the air ambulance that insurance doesn't cover and/or hiring an attorney to force the insurance company to pay up if they refuse.
•If other medical needs & costs are identified, they will be added here.
•Helping his uncles to buy a new bed for Shadow, as he had recently outgrown his kid's mattress and his mother now cannot afford a new one
•If we manage to meet Shadow's immediate needs, excess funds will be saved towards other unanticipated/related medical expenses for Shadow. (His uncles are currently exploring setting up a joint account for him in his name so that when he turns 18 he starts his adult life without being immediately bankrupted by medical expenses.)
If you cannot donate funds, you can still help. Here's how!
•Share this fundraiser! More eyes on it means more help for our nephew.
•If you have a twin or full-sized bed frame and/or unused adult twin or full-sized mattress you would like to donate, please reach out to us. (Sorry, given Shadow's more fragile medical condition, we don't want to risk giving him even a slightly-used mattress.)
We will be accountable with the funds and trust you are placing in us. To maintain that accountability, AJ & I will be managing the funds in cooperation with and for Shadow and his Mom. As part of that accountability, regular updates will be posted here and we will be keeping track of all receipts and reimbursements. To the fullest extent that we are able while also protecting Shadow's privacy, we will provide donors with reasonably sufficient information upon request to verify how donated funds are being stewarded.
•Paying for insulin and other supplies and medications needed to manage for Shadow's diabetes.
•Paying the $5,000 deductible.
•Paying for the 20% of his hospitalization costs.
•Paying for the portion of the air ambulance that insurance doesn't cover and/or hiring an attorney to force the insurance company to pay up if they refuse.
•If other medical needs & costs are identified, they will be added here.
•Helping his uncles to buy a new bed for Shadow, as he had recently outgrown his kid's mattress and his mother now cannot afford a new one
•If we manage to meet Shadow's immediate needs, excess funds will be saved towards other unanticipated/related medical expenses for Shadow. (His uncles are currently exploring setting up a joint account for him in his name so that when he turns 18 he starts his adult life without being immediately bankrupted by medical expenses.)
If you cannot donate funds, you can still help. Here's how!
•Share this fundraiser! More eyes on it means more help for our nephew.
•If you have a twin or full-sized bed frame and/or unused adult twin or full-sized mattress you would like to donate, please reach out to us. (Sorry, given Shadow's more fragile medical condition, we don't want to risk giving him even a slightly-used mattress.)
We will be accountable with the funds and trust you are placing in us. To maintain that accountability, AJ & I will be managing the funds in cooperation with and for Shadow and his Mom. As part of that accountability, regular updates will be posted here and we will be keeping track of all receipts and reimbursements. To the fullest extent that we are able while also protecting Shadow's privacy, we will provide donors with reasonably sufficient information upon request to verify how donated funds are being stewarded.