Support Eli's Journey to Recovery

I think everyone believes that their child is special, and they are in their own right, but not many people can say that their child is a living miracle. Megan and Justin Braden can. Their son, Eli, was born at 23 weeks gestation and has been defying the odds since his first breath earthside. After over 100 days in the NICU, he graduated home with no deficits. He truly is our family's little miracle.

Unfortunately, on May 7th, our sweet, spunky miracle boy, Eli, suffered a devastating and tragic accident. While helping mow the lawn, one of his favorite activities, Eli fell and had a traumatic injury to his leg resulting in the amputation of his left foot. Eli is currently recovering at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus, surrounded by his family, and has undergone his first surgery. He is comfortable and stable.

As expected, this has been an extremely traumatic and overwhelming event for his family. Everyone is still very much in shock, but we are all so grateful for the amazing people that assisted in getting Eli help and ultimately saving his life.

Eli and the Bradens have a very long road ahead of them, and we want to make sure they can spend as much time with Eli as they navigate this new life. At this time, there is no definitive discharge date for Eli.

In order to do this, Megan will be off work temporarily and their family will be a one-income household. We want to try to lessen the financial burden of transportation expenses to and from the hospital, meals, as well as any basic living expenses so they can focus solely on Eli for the time being.

We greatly appreciate any support you can offer, no matter how small, to help cover these unexpected expenses. Please keep Eli and his family in your thoughts and prayers, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love, support, and generosity.