Smiles for LJ (Little Johnny)

Blossom Hendricks is organizing this fundraiser.

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LJ is a happy ten year old boy who was born with a vascular malformation. A vascular malformation is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that occurs during fetal development. LJ's vascular malformation is in his face (lip area). When he was born his dad and I were in shock of the bruise like mass on his lip. He had an MRI of his head to be sure it was not attached to his brain (thankfully, the report came back with the results that it was indeed not connected to his brain). After the MRI, we have been to a dermatologist who said it was way too big for her to operate. She sent us to a pediatric plastic surgeon who said the same about its size. He sent us to a radiologist to perform procedures called sclerotherapy which inject an antibiotic and alcohol into the feeder vessel to form a clot so the malformation would get smaller due to lack of blood flow. Unfortunately, LJ did not respond to the procedure three different times so the radiologist tried endovascular laser treatment which is the process of a laser being used inside the vein to burn it closed. Once again this procedure had no positive outcomes. We have since seen a craniofacial specialist and he too has not given us an answer as to how we can get this smaller to be operated on. I did some research online and I found a specialist of vascular birthmarks in NYC. We have since been to his office on Halloween, 2014, for a laser treatment to break the mass off the wall of his face. LJ had radiation burns from this procedure which have healed. He has also had removal surgery which was December 17, 2014, with a pre-op procedure injecting foam in his lip the day before (the 16th). He had another surgery on May 27, 2015. They removed most of the remainder of the malformation and laser his gums because when he teethes his mouth bleeds because it pushes through the malformation. The last surgery scheduled in NYC was August 26, 2015. The doctor was afraid to remove the entire malformation due to blood loss and possible paralysis.

We recently started moving forward again as the malformation has steadily increased in size. In September of 2023 we saw a new surgeon in Arkansas and he performed multiple laser treatments and a sclerotherapy. We finished a trip to Arkansas in December after Christmas for another surgery. We just got back from Arkansas again in March 2024. They cut his lip open and connected his muscle back together as well as the sclerotherapy and lasers. Follow up is in July 2024 to see what the next steps are.

We need help paying for the bills we have already endured, travel to and from the out of state hospitals, and we need help paying for all the future bills! AND Please remember to smile! If LJ can smile through all of this, so can you!!! Donations are greatly appreciated remember every little bit counts (even something as simple as $5) and prayers mean the world!

Apr. 1, 2024