Zephyrn Yrjola's Get Well Fund
Donation protected
On December 29th, 2019, Mitch and Summer Yrjola's 5-year-old son Zephyrn sustained severe blunt-force trauma to his pancreas and surrounding organs along with a perforation in his intestines while riding at an indoor bike park. The saddle impact smashed his pancreas against his spine hard enough to cause life-threatening injuries for which he has been in Children's Hospital for since the day this accident occurred.
Zeph's injuries have been referred to as "extraordinarily complex" due to the type of pancreatic trauma he has. As an isolated injury, it's known as one that is notoriously difficult to manage in children and unfortunately, his complications have been ongoing.
Within the first 9 days at Children's Hospital Zeph endured 3 invasive surgeries, the first of which left him unable to breathe on his own until it was realized days after that he had suffered 2 collapsed lungs following the surgery. The 2nd operation was to remedy this but unfortunately, Zeph's condition continued to rapidly deteriorate as he became increasingly sick and listless. After 72 hours of steady decline and multiple tests, they finally determined that Zeph had a perforation in his intestine which was regrettably overlooked at the time of his initial surgery.
By that time, his body had turned septic as a result of the perforation being left untreated for 9 days. The sepsis nearly killed him. After an emergency operation to close the opening in his bowel, they were faced with a massive infection that was gradually shutting his entire body down. He has been on antibiotics for this infection,- as well as for the numerous abscesses that have since formed internally- since January 8th. Since then, his complications have been ongoing and his recovery has been agonizingly slow which is likely due, in part, to the physical, emotional and mental trauma that he has endured. He is without a doubt having to fight extra hard.
His pain levels have needed ongoing IV narcotics which have been flowing 24/7 since December 29th. The weaning process has started and Summer and Mitch are now supporting their 5-year old through the side effects of opioid withdrawal. Their journey continues to be painful and uncertain and it is estimated it will take another 3-4 wks of close monitoring before he's well enough to go home.
Mitch and Summer cannot work while Zeph is still in the hospital as one of them is required to be with him at all times. They continue to make the twice-daily 40 min commute from home to hospital where they swap parental shifts for 24 hrs as there's also Zeph's 2 year old brother Wolfe. Your contribution helps support Mitch and Summer as they continue to be Zephyrn's pillar of strength and champion his recovery every single day. A very challenging journey lies ahead and we know they'll be able to do it with the strength, support and love from their community ❤️
Zeph's injuries have been referred to as "extraordinarily complex" due to the type of pancreatic trauma he has. As an isolated injury, it's known as one that is notoriously difficult to manage in children and unfortunately, his complications have been ongoing.
Within the first 9 days at Children's Hospital Zeph endured 3 invasive surgeries, the first of which left him unable to breathe on his own until it was realized days after that he had suffered 2 collapsed lungs following the surgery. The 2nd operation was to remedy this but unfortunately, Zeph's condition continued to rapidly deteriorate as he became increasingly sick and listless. After 72 hours of steady decline and multiple tests, they finally determined that Zeph had a perforation in his intestine which was regrettably overlooked at the time of his initial surgery.
By that time, his body had turned septic as a result of the perforation being left untreated for 9 days. The sepsis nearly killed him. After an emergency operation to close the opening in his bowel, they were faced with a massive infection that was gradually shutting his entire body down. He has been on antibiotics for this infection,- as well as for the numerous abscesses that have since formed internally- since January 8th. Since then, his complications have been ongoing and his recovery has been agonizingly slow which is likely due, in part, to the physical, emotional and mental trauma that he has endured. He is without a doubt having to fight extra hard.
His pain levels have needed ongoing IV narcotics which have been flowing 24/7 since December 29th. The weaning process has started and Summer and Mitch are now supporting their 5-year old through the side effects of opioid withdrawal. Their journey continues to be painful and uncertain and it is estimated it will take another 3-4 wks of close monitoring before he's well enough to go home.
Mitch and Summer cannot work while Zeph is still in the hospital as one of them is required to be with him at all times. They continue to make the twice-daily 40 min commute from home to hospital where they swap parental shifts for 24 hrs as there's also Zeph's 2 year old brother Wolfe. Your contribution helps support Mitch and Summer as they continue to be Zephyrn's pillar of strength and champion his recovery every single day. A very challenging journey lies ahead and we know they'll be able to do it with the strength, support and love from their community ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Elyse Cornish
Organizer
Campbell River, BC
MITCH YRJOLA
Beneficiary