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I have a story to tell, about my friend since childhood...
At the first of November my friends son Joshua had gotten very ill with pneumonia and was hospitalized. Because of his Down Syndrome he already had respiratory problems on top of it. The hospital struggled with getting his pulse/oxygen up and maintained. They tried putting him on a CPAP and with a little resistance from him and an asthma attack on top of it all, he collapsed his lung and had to be intubated. After 4 days, their local hospital had depleted what they could do and had him life-flighted to Children's Primary Hospital in Salt Lake City Utah. Once there, in a week's time they were able to get his respiratory under control and were taking care of the pneumonia. Over the next week he developed a fever from an underlying infection that they could only guess had developed in his muscles. His fever spiked to 105.8°F. To try and locate the infection in his muscles they were preparing him for an MRI of his body and as they were, his kidneys failed. He was put on dialysis to help flush and clean his kidneys through. Several attempts later and they still were not able to get his kidneys restarted.
Then on top of everything else he's had pulmonary hypertension since the day he was born, and it's always been a problematic struggle, that hypertension kicked into high gear this round. Pulmonary hypertension is something that can never be corrected or fixed and will only get worse as life goes on. So after 5 and a 1/2 long weeks of being in the PICU, his pulmonary hypertension weakened his heart, his already weakened lungs from pneumonia, and not being able to get his kidneys restarted was putting him dangerously close to multiple organ failure.
My long-time friend and her ex-husband no longer wanted him to be supported by machines to preserve his life, as they were told by his team of doctors, that this would be his life from now on and he would suffer. As parents they made the difficult choice of turning off the machines to end the suffering once and for all and said their final goodbyes to their little man Joshua.
Joshua took his last and final breath at 12:53pm. Friday December 14th 2018. He will no longer be in pain or suffer any more illnesses or have to be under constant doctors care, he is at peace now. Thank you everyone for all the love and support and the prayers that you gave her son. Joshua was loved by so many people. My friends daily life was taking care of Joshua, it is what she did with joy from morning til night, he needed constant care due to his illnesses. As soon as his life ended, the funds she received for his care ended as well. She thought she would go before him someday and is in complete shock. In this time of mourning I feel compelled to ask for assistance from all who read this message. She is now in the latter part of her life, has lost her only son and is struggling with not only the loss, but how to start a new life. If you feel touched by what I have written, I only wish to ask for a few dollars or whatever you have to spare, to help assist my friend for a couple months until she is able to get back on her feet and strengthen her broken spirit. Thank you for taking the time to read this heartbreaking story of my friend since childhood.
At the first of November my friends son Joshua had gotten very ill with pneumonia and was hospitalized. Because of his Down Syndrome he already had respiratory problems on top of it. The hospital struggled with getting his pulse/oxygen up and maintained. They tried putting him on a CPAP and with a little resistance from him and an asthma attack on top of it all, he collapsed his lung and had to be intubated. After 4 days, their local hospital had depleted what they could do and had him life-flighted to Children's Primary Hospital in Salt Lake City Utah. Once there, in a week's time they were able to get his respiratory under control and were taking care of the pneumonia. Over the next week he developed a fever from an underlying infection that they could only guess had developed in his muscles. His fever spiked to 105.8°F. To try and locate the infection in his muscles they were preparing him for an MRI of his body and as they were, his kidneys failed. He was put on dialysis to help flush and clean his kidneys through. Several attempts later and they still were not able to get his kidneys restarted.
Then on top of everything else he's had pulmonary hypertension since the day he was born, and it's always been a problematic struggle, that hypertension kicked into high gear this round. Pulmonary hypertension is something that can never be corrected or fixed and will only get worse as life goes on. So after 5 and a 1/2 long weeks of being in the PICU, his pulmonary hypertension weakened his heart, his already weakened lungs from pneumonia, and not being able to get his kidneys restarted was putting him dangerously close to multiple organ failure.
My long-time friend and her ex-husband no longer wanted him to be supported by machines to preserve his life, as they were told by his team of doctors, that this would be his life from now on and he would suffer. As parents they made the difficult choice of turning off the machines to end the suffering once and for all and said their final goodbyes to their little man Joshua.
Joshua took his last and final breath at 12:53pm. Friday December 14th 2018. He will no longer be in pain or suffer any more illnesses or have to be under constant doctors care, he is at peace now. Thank you everyone for all the love and support and the prayers that you gave her son. Joshua was loved by so many people. My friends daily life was taking care of Joshua, it is what she did with joy from morning til night, he needed constant care due to his illnesses. As soon as his life ended, the funds she received for his care ended as well. She thought she would go before him someday and is in complete shock. In this time of mourning I feel compelled to ask for assistance from all who read this message. She is now in the latter part of her life, has lost her only son and is struggling with not only the loss, but how to start a new life. If you feel touched by what I have written, I only wish to ask for a few dollars or whatever you have to spare, to help assist my friend for a couple months until she is able to get back on her feet and strengthen her broken spirit. Thank you for taking the time to read this heartbreaking story of my friend since childhood.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kerri B Brookbush
Beneficiary