Helping my Grandson
Donation protected
I have created this go-fund-me for my son, his wife, and their son Joseph (my grandson).
Joseph is a 2 year old little boy who is filled with so much personality. However, since his birth in 2018, he has had a very difficult time; facing challenge after challenge. As time began to pass, he stared developing a multitude of issues. With those issues came many doctors appointments, and many hospitalizations. Little Joseph has been hospitalized more than any other 2 year old that I personally know.
His most recent hospitalizations have been the worst of them all. On August 5th, Joseph went to his Mimi's house for a few fun filled days before his big sister had to start school. In the early morning hours of August 6th, a wrench was thrown in those "fun filled" days. Joseph began to run a fever and stopped eating. Mimi decided to still keep him and monitor his fever in case it was just a 24 hour bug. unfortunately that was far from the case. As the day and night progressed, Joseph took a turn for the worst. He refused to eat or drink, began spiking high temps, and became sluggish. He refused to do anything but lay around. On August 7th, Mimi called his mama (Kristi) and told her she believed Joseph needed to be seen because something wasn't right. So Kristi called his pediatrician and had an appointment made for that afternoon. Due to new Covid policies, they were only seeing sick children in the afternoon. So Kristi loaded up and headed to Mimi's to bring Joseph home before his appointment that afternoon. When they arrived back home, Joseph perked up. He was running around playing with his daddy (Jacob). They had considered canceling his appointment due to Joseph becoming more active, but then shortly after, Joseph began to decline right in front of them. He spiked a super high temp, and became extremely lethargic. So they decided to take him to his appointment.
When they got there, his pediatrician was immediately concerned because Joseph was just seen 10 days prior for his 2 year shots, and had lost nearly 3 pounds in those 10 days. She decided to do a strep test and some bloodwork. The strep test was negative but the bloodwork was bad. It showed that white blood cell count was at 21,600 left shifted (which means that there was an infection or inflammation somewhere in his body causing his bone marrow to produce and output large amounts of immature white blood cells). Normal WBC for his age is around 7,000, but if they are sick it can get up to 9,000. So his was pretty elevated. She advised that she was calling Batson and Joseph needed to be taken to the E.R immediately for further testing.
When they arrived to Batson E. R, the doctor had already been in communications with Joseph's pediatrician. He decided to run some tests. He ordered IV, blood work, belly X-ray, urine sample ( had to be taken via catheter due to Joseph's extreme dehydration), as well as a Covid swab (new policy required any child with a high fever be tested). Joseph hardly moved he had become lethargic. He literally just laid nearly unresponsive. In the short amount of time that had transpired from leaving pediatrician, to getting in the E. R., Joseph's WBC had jumped for 21,600 to over 23,000. This was over 3X the amount it should be. Due to having no clue what they were dealing with, they started a "universal" antibiotic and admitted him.
When they got to their room, the doctor came up and explained to Jacob and Kristi that Joseph was septic, but they weren't sure where the infection was. So they needed to run more tests. They decided to do a lumbar puncture and an MRI. With him being 2, Joseph had to be sedated for the MRI. Over the following days, Joseph's condition worsened. We all honestly thought we were going to lose him. He was so sick and wasn't showing any signs of improvement.
The preliminary results from the lumbar puncture shoed that Joseph had around 110 WBC in his spinal fluid, as well as some red blood cells. His WBC should have been around 5, so that was pretty elevated as well. Then the results from his MRI showed swelling in the left side of his brain, and infection in the right side.
The diagnosis - bacterial meningitis. But the issue became complicated due to the fact that he was started on antibiotics 3 days prior to the spinal tap; so they couldn't grow anything with the culture. It then became a concern that he may not be being treated with the correct antibiotic. After days and days of no improvement, and round the clock treatment, we all began to fear the worst. We knew that little Joseph needed a miracle. So infectious disease was brought in to take the lead due to the circumstances. Joseph finally started showing improvement about 2 days before he was discharged. He stared eating, drinking, and even walking the halls of the floor. He was becoming more alert and active. On the day that Joseph was discharged, the doctors told Jacob and Kristi that even though Joseph was improving, he would still have a long and possibly difficult road to recovery. Explaining to them that Joseph would have good days and bad days; as unfortunate as it was, it was just the recovery process from his infection. The doctors also expressed their concern that Joseph may have suffered partial hearing loss because he began showing small signs. Partial hearing loss is just one of the many permanent side effects of having such a bad infection in your brain. They left the hospital knowing that, going home as prepared as they could be. But NOTHING would prepare them for the events that began taking place a few days after Joseph's discharge.
Joseph became very aggressive. He would hit, slap, claw, kick, pinch, and bite. Things he had NEVER done before. He then began waking up during the night screeching in pain, telling Kristi "hurt" "ouch". It began as only once a night. Then rapidly progressed to MULTIPLE times a night. Poor Joseph would be in agonizing pain. Screaming and crying while holding his back and head. At first, Jacob and Kristi thought that he may have been having spinal tap headaches because the doctors told them that it could happen. But every night it got worse and they realized that something wasn't right.
Joseph had a post discharge follow-up with infectious disease. Kristi told the doctor about these new and worsening symptoms. He recommended that she schedule a follow-up appointment with his pediatrician immediately. From an infectious disease stand-point, there wasn't much more he could do considering Joseph had no fever with these symptoms. So an appointment with his pediatrician was made for that following Friday.
When they got to his appointment and began explaining what was happening, his pediatrician was shocked and didn't really have an answer. But she made a crucial decision to call Batson and speak to the on-call neurologist to get his opinion before she made a plan of care. The neurologist spoke to her about his symptoms and after reviewing his chart, he became very concerned. He told Joseph's pediatrician that we needing to take him back to Batson immediately and that he would meet us in the E.R. So Kristi rushed Joseph to Batson E.R.
When they got to the E.R., the neurologist did an assessment, and determined that Joseph needed to be hospitalized again. His concern was with his recent diagnosis of meningitis, that either his brain was still swollen and pushing on his cranial cavity, or that the meningitis had not been fully treated given the circumstances that they couldn't find the exact strain. Neurology decided to do another MRI and lumbar puncture to compare from the previous ones. But this one would be more in depth. The spinal tap revealed that Joseph still had a large amount of WBC in his spinal fluid, and the MRI revealed that the infection in the brain was gone, but his brain was still swollen and had excess fluid. But thankfully this go around they decided to hold off on a plan of treatment in hopes to get more answers about what has going on in Joseph's body. Upon testing, the neurologist believes that Joseph is either dealing with an auto-immune issue, or for some reason is having a continuous build up of pressure from excess fluid. But they wont know for sure until some more of his tests and cultures come back. they cannot treat him yet, because until those tests come back its uncertain what exact treatment he needs.
Because of all this, Jacob had to turn down a hitch or 2 in order to be there for his son with the uncertainty if Joseph was going to make it not. Jacob was scheduled to leave out after Joseph's previous discharge from the hospital, but then the 2 hurricanes formed in the gulf and it pushed the job back.
With continuous accruing medical bills, uncertainty of what is next, having to be off work due to Joseph's dire medical issues, all of appointments Joseph will have to be scheduled for post discharge, having to eat while still in the hospital, and things falling behind due to these unforeseen circumstances, I created this in hopes to help ease some of their burden as they deal with something that no parent would ever want to watch their child go through. Jacob and Kristi are the most genuine people. They will give the shirts off their backs to anyone. And its heartbreaking to see them go through this. This is an extremely difficult time for them as they are trying to process, and get the next step in healing their child. All the while, putting Joseph's big sister through virtual learning. I know this is a big amount, and even if the goal isn't close to being met, anything helps. No amount is too small. I humbly ask that if you cannot donate, to please share and lift this amazing family up in your prayers as they deal with what seems the impossible.
Joseph is a 2 year old little boy who is filled with so much personality. However, since his birth in 2018, he has had a very difficult time; facing challenge after challenge. As time began to pass, he stared developing a multitude of issues. With those issues came many doctors appointments, and many hospitalizations. Little Joseph has been hospitalized more than any other 2 year old that I personally know.
His most recent hospitalizations have been the worst of them all. On August 5th, Joseph went to his Mimi's house for a few fun filled days before his big sister had to start school. In the early morning hours of August 6th, a wrench was thrown in those "fun filled" days. Joseph began to run a fever and stopped eating. Mimi decided to still keep him and monitor his fever in case it was just a 24 hour bug. unfortunately that was far from the case. As the day and night progressed, Joseph took a turn for the worst. He refused to eat or drink, began spiking high temps, and became sluggish. He refused to do anything but lay around. On August 7th, Mimi called his mama (Kristi) and told her she believed Joseph needed to be seen because something wasn't right. So Kristi called his pediatrician and had an appointment made for that afternoon. Due to new Covid policies, they were only seeing sick children in the afternoon. So Kristi loaded up and headed to Mimi's to bring Joseph home before his appointment that afternoon. When they arrived back home, Joseph perked up. He was running around playing with his daddy (Jacob). They had considered canceling his appointment due to Joseph becoming more active, but then shortly after, Joseph began to decline right in front of them. He spiked a super high temp, and became extremely lethargic. So they decided to take him to his appointment.
When they got there, his pediatrician was immediately concerned because Joseph was just seen 10 days prior for his 2 year shots, and had lost nearly 3 pounds in those 10 days. She decided to do a strep test and some bloodwork. The strep test was negative but the bloodwork was bad. It showed that white blood cell count was at 21,600 left shifted (which means that there was an infection or inflammation somewhere in his body causing his bone marrow to produce and output large amounts of immature white blood cells). Normal WBC for his age is around 7,000, but if they are sick it can get up to 9,000. So his was pretty elevated. She advised that she was calling Batson and Joseph needed to be taken to the E.R immediately for further testing.
When they arrived to Batson E. R, the doctor had already been in communications with Joseph's pediatrician. He decided to run some tests. He ordered IV, blood work, belly X-ray, urine sample ( had to be taken via catheter due to Joseph's extreme dehydration), as well as a Covid swab (new policy required any child with a high fever be tested). Joseph hardly moved he had become lethargic. He literally just laid nearly unresponsive. In the short amount of time that had transpired from leaving pediatrician, to getting in the E. R., Joseph's WBC had jumped for 21,600 to over 23,000. This was over 3X the amount it should be. Due to having no clue what they were dealing with, they started a "universal" antibiotic and admitted him.
When they got to their room, the doctor came up and explained to Jacob and Kristi that Joseph was septic, but they weren't sure where the infection was. So they needed to run more tests. They decided to do a lumbar puncture and an MRI. With him being 2, Joseph had to be sedated for the MRI. Over the following days, Joseph's condition worsened. We all honestly thought we were going to lose him. He was so sick and wasn't showing any signs of improvement.
The preliminary results from the lumbar puncture shoed that Joseph had around 110 WBC in his spinal fluid, as well as some red blood cells. His WBC should have been around 5, so that was pretty elevated as well. Then the results from his MRI showed swelling in the left side of his brain, and infection in the right side.
The diagnosis - bacterial meningitis. But the issue became complicated due to the fact that he was started on antibiotics 3 days prior to the spinal tap; so they couldn't grow anything with the culture. It then became a concern that he may not be being treated with the correct antibiotic. After days and days of no improvement, and round the clock treatment, we all began to fear the worst. We knew that little Joseph needed a miracle. So infectious disease was brought in to take the lead due to the circumstances. Joseph finally started showing improvement about 2 days before he was discharged. He stared eating, drinking, and even walking the halls of the floor. He was becoming more alert and active. On the day that Joseph was discharged, the doctors told Jacob and Kristi that even though Joseph was improving, he would still have a long and possibly difficult road to recovery. Explaining to them that Joseph would have good days and bad days; as unfortunate as it was, it was just the recovery process from his infection. The doctors also expressed their concern that Joseph may have suffered partial hearing loss because he began showing small signs. Partial hearing loss is just one of the many permanent side effects of having such a bad infection in your brain. They left the hospital knowing that, going home as prepared as they could be. But NOTHING would prepare them for the events that began taking place a few days after Joseph's discharge.
Joseph became very aggressive. He would hit, slap, claw, kick, pinch, and bite. Things he had NEVER done before. He then began waking up during the night screeching in pain, telling Kristi "hurt" "ouch". It began as only once a night. Then rapidly progressed to MULTIPLE times a night. Poor Joseph would be in agonizing pain. Screaming and crying while holding his back and head. At first, Jacob and Kristi thought that he may have been having spinal tap headaches because the doctors told them that it could happen. But every night it got worse and they realized that something wasn't right.
Joseph had a post discharge follow-up with infectious disease. Kristi told the doctor about these new and worsening symptoms. He recommended that she schedule a follow-up appointment with his pediatrician immediately. From an infectious disease stand-point, there wasn't much more he could do considering Joseph had no fever with these symptoms. So an appointment with his pediatrician was made for that following Friday.
When they got to his appointment and began explaining what was happening, his pediatrician was shocked and didn't really have an answer. But she made a crucial decision to call Batson and speak to the on-call neurologist to get his opinion before she made a plan of care. The neurologist spoke to her about his symptoms and after reviewing his chart, he became very concerned. He told Joseph's pediatrician that we needing to take him back to Batson immediately and that he would meet us in the E.R. So Kristi rushed Joseph to Batson E.R.
When they got to the E.R., the neurologist did an assessment, and determined that Joseph needed to be hospitalized again. His concern was with his recent diagnosis of meningitis, that either his brain was still swollen and pushing on his cranial cavity, or that the meningitis had not been fully treated given the circumstances that they couldn't find the exact strain. Neurology decided to do another MRI and lumbar puncture to compare from the previous ones. But this one would be more in depth. The spinal tap revealed that Joseph still had a large amount of WBC in his spinal fluid, and the MRI revealed that the infection in the brain was gone, but his brain was still swollen and had excess fluid. But thankfully this go around they decided to hold off on a plan of treatment in hopes to get more answers about what has going on in Joseph's body. Upon testing, the neurologist believes that Joseph is either dealing with an auto-immune issue, or for some reason is having a continuous build up of pressure from excess fluid. But they wont know for sure until some more of his tests and cultures come back. they cannot treat him yet, because until those tests come back its uncertain what exact treatment he needs.
Because of all this, Jacob had to turn down a hitch or 2 in order to be there for his son with the uncertainty if Joseph was going to make it not. Jacob was scheduled to leave out after Joseph's previous discharge from the hospital, but then the 2 hurricanes formed in the gulf and it pushed the job back.
With continuous accruing medical bills, uncertainty of what is next, having to be off work due to Joseph's dire medical issues, all of appointments Joseph will have to be scheduled for post discharge, having to eat while still in the hospital, and things falling behind due to these unforeseen circumstances, I created this in hopes to help ease some of their burden as they deal with something that no parent would ever want to watch their child go through. Jacob and Kristi are the most genuine people. They will give the shirts off their backs to anyone. And its heartbreaking to see them go through this. This is an extremely difficult time for them as they are trying to process, and get the next step in healing their child. All the while, putting Joseph's big sister through virtual learning. I know this is a big amount, and even if the goal isn't close to being met, anything helps. No amount is too small. I humbly ask that if you cannot donate, to please share and lift this amazing family up in your prayers as they deal with what seems the impossible.
Organizer and beneficiary
Tina Scates
Organizer
Vicksburg, MS
Kristi Norwood
Beneficiary
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