Hi my name is Jim and I’m fundraising for my nephew Sean. As some of you may know, Sean was admitted to Newton Memorial ICU on Monday September 27th.

Very suddenly while at home, Sean became extremely panicked and disoriented. He began gasping for breath and was unable to stand.

Upon rushing him to the emergency room, they discovered his blood sugar levels were dangerously high. To help him with breathing he was immediately put on a ventilator and sedated, the sedation was necessary due to Sean trying to pull the ventilator hoses and IV lines out due to his

lack of understanding where he was.

He remained in the ICU for almost a week as the doctors struggled to get Sean’s blood working for him, not against him. All through the week Sean continued to fight, his dad Brian by his side as best he could, talking to his son, reassuring him they were going to get through this.

Although Sean was not conscious, the nurses reassured us he could hear us talking to him.

As the days passed, it was determined that Sean was suffering from diabetic keto acidosis, a life threatening complication of diabetes, something Sean had never been diagnosed having.

As I write this, Sean is in the very grueling process of healing at the hospital. His heart and kidneys took a large toll during this ordeal and are still in a very weakened state. He has gone through numerous dialysis treatments over the past six days and has shown some signs of improving.

The next step of his recovery will require an extended stay at a rehabilitation center as he works at gathering his strength both physically and mentally to face the challenges ahead.

The unfortunate reality came later as the specialist treating Sean stated to the family that Sean was now facing living his life with type 1 diabetes at the young age of 24.

With your help, we are hoping to alleviate some of the financial burden Sean will be facing. As Sean focuses his attention on healing and learning to cope with his medical condition, any and all donations will go towards his mounting medical bills due to his extended time in the ICU and towards the exceedingly high cost of insulin and other supplies he will need in the future.

The love and support Sean and his 3 siblings received after the passing of their mom in 2008 after a long battle with cancer was immeasurable. The outpouring from the community meant the world to the family then, and it will mean the world to them once again.

Please keep Sean in your thoughts and thank you for a few moments of your time.