SUPPORT FOR HARPER AND THE DETWEILER FAMILY
Please meet my cousin Boomer, his wife Amy and their three children, Tanner (5), Taylor (3) and Harper (10 months). Both Tanner and Harper were born with a heart abnormality that required pacemakers to be inserted shortly after birth.
During what was intended to be a short trip to Colorado in July, Harper was taken to the hospital and now Amy, Boomer, and their children have been unexpectedly displaced from their home in Florida for the foreseeable future. They are in need of immediate help as they establish their continued medical care for Harper, childcare and education for Tanner and Taylor, and mid to long-term housing and transportation. Boomer continues to travel back and forth from Florida to Colorado for the weekends to be with the family.
Thank you so much for any help you may be able to provide to them as they navigate this extremely difficult time. They are wonderful, loving parents who are currently carrying an immeasurable burden.
- Elizabeth Martin Allison
AMY, BOOMER AND HARPER’S STORY:
We came to Colorado Saturday July 18 for a family vacation. Leading up to this trip Harper unfortunately got chicken pox. Her course was mild and it did not seem to bother her and we got clearance from her doctors that it would be ok to travel.
The Sunday after we arrived Harper became irritable and restless. I (Amy) took her to urgent care and they put her on oral antibiotics. She didn’t improve, forcing us to return to urgent care the following day. She tested negative for COVID. The staff was wonderfully accommodating and allowed us to be monitored in the clinics a few hours to ensure Harper was ok. Thank God we stayed.
Over the course of the next several hours Harper’s oxygen levels slowly decreased and she spiked another fever. I knew something was wrong. So I asked staff at urgent care to send us to closest hospital in Vail. By the time we arrived at Vail hospital, just 15 minutes after leaving the urgent care, Harper was in respiratory distress. They immediately decided to air evacuate her to Denver Children’s hospital as she was too critical to go via ambulance. I arrived to Denver (via car) to hear news no parent ever wants to hear.
Harper had cardiogenic shock (heart failure) and needed to be intubated for respiratory failure. The doctors in Denver reviewed Harper’s prior records and determined that her pacemaker had not been functioning well for some time. Her chickenpox, combined with her weaned heart, had set off a cascade of events that led her to be critically ill.
Harper underwent surgery July 25th to take out her previous pacemaker and put in a better functioning one. The surgery was a success, her heart function has already improved, and I am glad to report that she is out of intensive care.
We still have a road of recovery ahead of us and will remain in Colorado for the foreseeable future. During this time, Harper will have appointments with her cardiology team as well as with the team monitoring nutrition, growth, and wound healing. We will need to secure temporary housing as well as transportation. In addition, we will need to find someone to help with virtual school for Tanner and a nanny for Taylor.
Please keep Harper and her medical team in your thoughts and prayers.
Love to all of you-
Boomer and Amy
Please meet my cousin Boomer, his wife Amy and their three children, Tanner (5), Taylor (3) and Harper (10 months). Both Tanner and Harper were born with a heart abnormality that required pacemakers to be inserted shortly after birth.
During what was intended to be a short trip to Colorado in July, Harper was taken to the hospital and now Amy, Boomer, and their children have been unexpectedly displaced from their home in Florida for the foreseeable future. They are in need of immediate help as they establish their continued medical care for Harper, childcare and education for Tanner and Taylor, and mid to long-term housing and transportation. Boomer continues to travel back and forth from Florida to Colorado for the weekends to be with the family.
Thank you so much for any help you may be able to provide to them as they navigate this extremely difficult time. They are wonderful, loving parents who are currently carrying an immeasurable burden.
- Elizabeth Martin Allison
AMY, BOOMER AND HARPER’S STORY:
We came to Colorado Saturday July 18 for a family vacation. Leading up to this trip Harper unfortunately got chicken pox. Her course was mild and it did not seem to bother her and we got clearance from her doctors that it would be ok to travel.
The Sunday after we arrived Harper became irritable and restless. I (Amy) took her to urgent care and they put her on oral antibiotics. She didn’t improve, forcing us to return to urgent care the following day. She tested negative for COVID. The staff was wonderfully accommodating and allowed us to be monitored in the clinics a few hours to ensure Harper was ok. Thank God we stayed.
Over the course of the next several hours Harper’s oxygen levels slowly decreased and she spiked another fever. I knew something was wrong. So I asked staff at urgent care to send us to closest hospital in Vail. By the time we arrived at Vail hospital, just 15 minutes after leaving the urgent care, Harper was in respiratory distress. They immediately decided to air evacuate her to Denver Children’s hospital as she was too critical to go via ambulance. I arrived to Denver (via car) to hear news no parent ever wants to hear.
Harper had cardiogenic shock (heart failure) and needed to be intubated for respiratory failure. The doctors in Denver reviewed Harper’s prior records and determined that her pacemaker had not been functioning well for some time. Her chickenpox, combined with her weaned heart, had set off a cascade of events that led her to be critically ill.
Harper underwent surgery July 25th to take out her previous pacemaker and put in a better functioning one. The surgery was a success, her heart function has already improved, and I am glad to report that she is out of intensive care.
We still have a road of recovery ahead of us and will remain in Colorado for the foreseeable future. During this time, Harper will have appointments with her cardiology team as well as with the team monitoring nutrition, growth, and wound healing. We will need to secure temporary housing as well as transportation. In addition, we will need to find someone to help with virtual school for Tanner and a nanny for Taylor.
Please keep Harper and her medical team in your thoughts and prayers.
Love to all of you-
Boomer and Amy
Organizer and beneficiary
Edwin Detweiler
Beneficiary