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Imagine having to rush out to the grocery store on a normal spring day and asking a dear friend to babysit for you. Tragedy struck when the life you brought into the world was brutally shaken and thrown against a wall.
Imagine getting a phone call at 12:27 a.m. that your only granddaughter was in the hospital battling for life.
This is the story of a beautiful eight year old girl who was born normal but has now become totally dependent on her caregivers-grandparents who has now adopted her along with her two brothers (nine and fourteen years old) after such traumatic life changing event.
Brooke was born a normal child but became a victim of child abuse as early as four months old. She suffered this fate only because she supposedly refused to stop crying to appease her babysitter. As of a result of the babysitter’s actions, Brooke is not able to walk, talk, see, eat, and even play as a normal child would. The older she gets it becomes more cumbersome to carry Brooke up the stairs and giving her daily showers.
Brooke's living space needs to be enhanced to accommandate her physical disability. Her present home was never built to cater to the needs of a child with disability-as she was born a normal child. A proper living space would be sizable enough to accommodate the many gadgets and equipment Brooke needs to survive.
It is indeed a joy to take care of Brooke and she is loved dearly by all the people she comes in contact with. However, even though we take pride in taking care of her there are still day to day challenges that gets more unmanageable as she grows older.
As a family, we are seeking assistance to provide better care and a suitable living space for a sweet child who is dealing with so many medical issues. Our goal is to build a living space on the downstairs of our home that is accommodating to Brooke’s special needs. Among the many different types of equipment that are needed for her everyday care : a stander, wheelchair, breathing machines, sitting chair, and a hoyer lift, as well as the storage space to store all her medical supplies, and a special bathroom that can accommodate a bathchair and for her to be rolled in easily to get her daily baths.
This ambitious goal is being hindered by the lack of funding to make this addition to our home. We were very optimistic in taking on this project and contacted numerous contractors to get started. We were blown away by the fact that this would cost so much. We are struggling to make this dream a reality for Brooke. We are putting our story out here so that all of our well wishers and generous givers can rally around us in making this dream a reality for Brooke.
To shed more light on Brooke’s situation, below is a comprehensive report.
Brooke Byrd suffered a severe traumatic brain injury from nonaccidental trauma on 5/27/2009 that has resulted in neurological devastation and cerebral cortex necrosis. Due to her injury, Brooke now has a seizure disorder which requires daily medications; she suffers from frequent jerking of her body known as myoclonic jerks; dysphagia (difficulty swallowing); feeding intolerance; gastroesophageal reflux (which has required two surgeries); she is dependent on a feeding tube in her stomach for all her nutrition and medication; she has mixed spastic dyskinetic quadriparetic cerebral palsy; optic atrophy in both eyes making her legally blind and global developmental delays.
In review, on May 28, 2009, Brooke Byrd, a four month old infant, was transferred to Baptist hospital from Moses Cone for a known brain hemorrhage, respiratory failure, possible seizures and her left eye fixed/ dilated. Once at Baptist hospital, Brooke was diagnosed with subdural hematomas, distal left radial metaphyseal impaction fracture, and retinal hemorrhages. Brooke remained hospitalized from May 28 - July 6, 2009 (39 days) before being transferred to Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte for Rehabilitation where she stayed from July 6-20, 2009 (14 days) before being discharged home us. Her initial hospitalization was complicated by painful bilateral femoral artery thromboses, a methicillin resistant enterobacter bacteremia and hypertension. During the initial year and a half after her injury, Brooke experienced excruciating and relentless agitation necessitating ongoing sedation with multiple narcotics and ultimately a long drug weaning process. Overall, she has undergone 4 surgeries, 4 brain scans, 17 chest x-rays, 6 abdominal x-rays, 2 total bone surveys, 4 swallow function studies, 3 upper bowel studies related to her injuries and countless needle sticks for blood work and IV access. Brooke has required 7 hospitalizations, multiple emergency room visits and numerous sub-specialty physician appointments --all due to her brain injury.
Brooke's neurological irritability has finally begun to dissipate, but she continues to suffer from the frequent body jerks. Given her fragile health status, she remains at high risk for serious respiratory infections. We have enrolled her in the best possible school in order to provide Brooke with optimal daily developmental therapies. She will continue to require specialized follow-up by a Pediatric Neurologist, a Pediatric Developmental physician, a Pediatric Orthopedist, a nutritionist, physical/occupational/speech/visual therapists, a Pediatric Surgeon and a Pediatric Ophthalmologist. She requires specialized physical therapy equipment and splints to promote appropriate growth of her muscles and bones.
Though we hope the very best for Brooke and are pleased with the progress she has made-- it is very likely that she will be totally dependent on others for her care for the rest of her life.
We anticipate your generous contributions that will assist in providing a proper living space for a wonderful little girl who is a victim of an irresponsible circumstance.
Imagine getting a phone call at 12:27 a.m. that your only granddaughter was in the hospital battling for life.
This is the story of a beautiful eight year old girl who was born normal but has now become totally dependent on her caregivers-grandparents who has now adopted her along with her two brothers (nine and fourteen years old) after such traumatic life changing event.
Brooke was born a normal child but became a victim of child abuse as early as four months old. She suffered this fate only because she supposedly refused to stop crying to appease her babysitter. As of a result of the babysitter’s actions, Brooke is not able to walk, talk, see, eat, and even play as a normal child would. The older she gets it becomes more cumbersome to carry Brooke up the stairs and giving her daily showers.
Brooke's living space needs to be enhanced to accommandate her physical disability. Her present home was never built to cater to the needs of a child with disability-as she was born a normal child. A proper living space would be sizable enough to accommodate the many gadgets and equipment Brooke needs to survive.
It is indeed a joy to take care of Brooke and she is loved dearly by all the people she comes in contact with. However, even though we take pride in taking care of her there are still day to day challenges that gets more unmanageable as she grows older.
As a family, we are seeking assistance to provide better care and a suitable living space for a sweet child who is dealing with so many medical issues. Our goal is to build a living space on the downstairs of our home that is accommodating to Brooke’s special needs. Among the many different types of equipment that are needed for her everyday care : a stander, wheelchair, breathing machines, sitting chair, and a hoyer lift, as well as the storage space to store all her medical supplies, and a special bathroom that can accommodate a bathchair and for her to be rolled in easily to get her daily baths.
This ambitious goal is being hindered by the lack of funding to make this addition to our home. We were very optimistic in taking on this project and contacted numerous contractors to get started. We were blown away by the fact that this would cost so much. We are struggling to make this dream a reality for Brooke. We are putting our story out here so that all of our well wishers and generous givers can rally around us in making this dream a reality for Brooke.
To shed more light on Brooke’s situation, below is a comprehensive report.
Brooke Byrd suffered a severe traumatic brain injury from nonaccidental trauma on 5/27/2009 that has resulted in neurological devastation and cerebral cortex necrosis. Due to her injury, Brooke now has a seizure disorder which requires daily medications; she suffers from frequent jerking of her body known as myoclonic jerks; dysphagia (difficulty swallowing); feeding intolerance; gastroesophageal reflux (which has required two surgeries); she is dependent on a feeding tube in her stomach for all her nutrition and medication; she has mixed spastic dyskinetic quadriparetic cerebral palsy; optic atrophy in both eyes making her legally blind and global developmental delays.
In review, on May 28, 2009, Brooke Byrd, a four month old infant, was transferred to Baptist hospital from Moses Cone for a known brain hemorrhage, respiratory failure, possible seizures and her left eye fixed/ dilated. Once at Baptist hospital, Brooke was diagnosed with subdural hematomas, distal left radial metaphyseal impaction fracture, and retinal hemorrhages. Brooke remained hospitalized from May 28 - July 6, 2009 (39 days) before being transferred to Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte for Rehabilitation where she stayed from July 6-20, 2009 (14 days) before being discharged home us. Her initial hospitalization was complicated by painful bilateral femoral artery thromboses, a methicillin resistant enterobacter bacteremia and hypertension. During the initial year and a half after her injury, Brooke experienced excruciating and relentless agitation necessitating ongoing sedation with multiple narcotics and ultimately a long drug weaning process. Overall, she has undergone 4 surgeries, 4 brain scans, 17 chest x-rays, 6 abdominal x-rays, 2 total bone surveys, 4 swallow function studies, 3 upper bowel studies related to her injuries and countless needle sticks for blood work and IV access. Brooke has required 7 hospitalizations, multiple emergency room visits and numerous sub-specialty physician appointments --all due to her brain injury.
Brooke's neurological irritability has finally begun to dissipate, but she continues to suffer from the frequent body jerks. Given her fragile health status, she remains at high risk for serious respiratory infections. We have enrolled her in the best possible school in order to provide Brooke with optimal daily developmental therapies. She will continue to require specialized follow-up by a Pediatric Neurologist, a Pediatric Developmental physician, a Pediatric Orthopedist, a nutritionist, physical/occupational/speech/visual therapists, a Pediatric Surgeon and a Pediatric Ophthalmologist. She requires specialized physical therapy equipment and splints to promote appropriate growth of her muscles and bones.
Though we hope the very best for Brooke and are pleased with the progress she has made-- it is very likely that she will be totally dependent on others for her care for the rest of her life.
We anticipate your generous contributions that will assist in providing a proper living space for a wonderful little girl who is a victim of an irresponsible circumstance.