Help For God's Little Warriors
Tax deductible
My name is Bonnie, I am one of the Officers of Life Passage Ministries. Life Passage Ministries is an IRS recognized 501 (c) 3 non-profit religious, charity organization, so all donations are tax deductible. We were incorporated on June 16, 2011. We help small rural churches with restarts and revitalization programs. We also help families with back to school supplies, clothes, and food. We are starting a new project called "Help For God's Little Warriors" to help families with children with life threatening diseases. That is a name that has been on my heart, it is not associated with any other program with the same or similar names.
Our six year old grandson, Johnathan the Brave, is one of these amazing Little Warriors. He was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Depletion Syndrome (Johnathan's mutation that caused this is "either unique to him or as of yet undiscovered"), Epilepsy, Migraines, Vertigo, Dysmotility of the stomach and intestine, Intermittent Ataxia, Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, Primary Immunodeficiency Disease (PIDD), Benign joint hypermobility, Speech disturbance/delay, Coagulopathy, POTS, and Dysautonomia. Suspected by doctors but as of yet not officially confirmed Encephalopathy And Neuropathy. No matter what procedure they throw at him, Johnathan the Brave almost always comes through it with a smile. If the procedure itself is one that causes him lots of pain and anxiety he will always have a smile and hug for the nurses and doctors after it is over. He loves everyone and he has been such a blessing not only to his family but to everyone that comes in contact with him. It is through Johnathan the Brave and a wonderful organization in Mesa, AZ called Hopekids AZ that we have been introduced to some amazing other Little Warriors that face huge battles day in and day out. Last year, 2016, Hopekids AZ helped over 1,200 families with children with life threatening diseases in the Phoenix area. With all this being said, what we would like this new project to do is help lighten the load for these amazing Little Warriors and their families. We would like to help supply medical needs that the families have to pay for, that really stretch an already tight budget, or medical needs that the deductibles are so high many families have to go without. Some of the items on the wish lists of these Moms and Dads are just every day items but when you are talking about a medically challenged child they are needed in excess. Some of these families because of the special needs of the children have had to be reduced to a one income family. Most employers frown on their employees missing up to a week of work at a time because a child is in the hospital. Johnathan the Brave was in the hospital last year for half the month of July and all but 4 days in August, plus about 2 weeks out of every other month. We are not starting this fundraiser just for Johnathan the Brave, I am just using him as an example because I know his needs the best.
Mighty Mason, who will be 4 in September, is another of God's Little Warriors that we have met through Hopekids. He and his family, like all the other Hopekids families we have met, are truly amazing, even though they struggle every day to pay the bills, pay the rent and supply Mason with the things he needs to thrive, they are always there to help other families in time of need. Mason has been officially diagnosed with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, chiari malformation, bronchi pulmonary dysplasia, asthma, sleep apnea, schizencephaly, cortical vision impairment, optic nerve hypoplasia, immune deficiency, and failure to thrive. Unfortunately, because he is on so many medicines to regulate his epilepsy and bronchi pulmonary dysplasia, as well as his immune deficiency, he has to be on other medicines to control the effects of the other. Since Mason was born he has been a fighter. They went from being told that he would not live more than a few hours and if he did he would be in a vegetative state, to having a mighty warrior that has defied all odds and proven every doctor wrong.
I have found that these Little Warriors have hearts as big a mountain, smiles that will melt the coldest of hearts, and strength to fight huge battles that most of us can't even imagine. Mighty Mason and Johnathan the Brave are a couple of our poster children. I will share more of their stories and pictures as we go along. I will also share other Little Warriors' stories as they become available.
I am setting this campaign at $10,000 to see where God is going to take it. Our goal is to reach out to as many hurting families as we can. A special car seat for a child with epilepsy depending on the size of the child can run upwards from $800, a special wheelchair can run $2,000 to $3,000, an IV pole that will hold all the pumps and bags of fluids and not easily tip over will run hundreds of dollars. The home health company only has small IV poles that won't hold more than 2 small pumps and 2 small bags of fluids, a lot of these children need way more than that. Some of the smaller everyday items, that Moms have said stretch their budgets that are already too tight include: baby wipes, saline wipes for stomas, child sized medical masks for sick siblings, adult medical masks for parents or nurses during dressing changes, small gift cards for food during hospital stays or gas to get the hospital or doctor's appointments, simple games or crafts for the inpatient child or siblings, purified water, extra syringes for medications, diaper ointments, Clorox Wipes, lotions, overnight pullups for larger kids, sensory toys, harnesses for wheelchairs for children with seizers, portable fans for wheelchairs, cup holders for wheelchairs, back packs for feeding pumps and bags of fluid, toiletries for parents for hospital stays, pad inserts for diapers for larger children, and puréed food/baby food.
We are going to be trying to work through Hopekids AZ, and Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa, AZ at this time to find families that need our help and we are relying on their recommendations. Thank you for helping us reach out to these amazing families.
From Mason's Mom: Through all of this Mason has persevered and continues to amaze us each day. He is now walking and learning how to talk. He was recently approved for an Augcom device that will talk for him so he can communicate with us. I know in my heart God gave us Mason to teach us all what a miracle he is. We are so blessed and I thank God each day for our miracle. He teaches us just as much as we teach him.
From Johnathan's Mom: Some days what these Mito kids go through doesn’t even seem possible, and often it takes things occurring inpatient at the hospital for even doctors to realize they are not only possible but the very difficult reality these kids face each and every day. They are wise beyond their years, they get angry and scared, they find joy in the small moments and most of all they bring joy and love to all those around them. My bright, beautiful boy is truly a gift from God and he lights up the world around him. I know his siblings and I would not be who we are without his struggle, but I would take it in a heartbeat. So hold your babies close, don’t stress so much about the mess, and be slow to anger when they do something crazy. Tomorrow is never promised, we only have today so make sure you have nothing to regret saying or not saying when the day comes to a close, and embrace all those little moments that stay with you forever. I pray I have many, many, many more years with Johnathan as well as my other two, but if I don’t I want a billion memories to see me through.
Thank you for reading our story, for your donations and for sharing our story.
Our six year old grandson, Johnathan the Brave, is one of these amazing Little Warriors. He was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Depletion Syndrome (Johnathan's mutation that caused this is "either unique to him or as of yet undiscovered"), Epilepsy, Migraines, Vertigo, Dysmotility of the stomach and intestine, Intermittent Ataxia, Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, Primary Immunodeficiency Disease (PIDD), Benign joint hypermobility, Speech disturbance/delay, Coagulopathy, POTS, and Dysautonomia. Suspected by doctors but as of yet not officially confirmed Encephalopathy And Neuropathy. No matter what procedure they throw at him, Johnathan the Brave almost always comes through it with a smile. If the procedure itself is one that causes him lots of pain and anxiety he will always have a smile and hug for the nurses and doctors after it is over. He loves everyone and he has been such a blessing not only to his family but to everyone that comes in contact with him. It is through Johnathan the Brave and a wonderful organization in Mesa, AZ called Hopekids AZ that we have been introduced to some amazing other Little Warriors that face huge battles day in and day out. Last year, 2016, Hopekids AZ helped over 1,200 families with children with life threatening diseases in the Phoenix area. With all this being said, what we would like this new project to do is help lighten the load for these amazing Little Warriors and their families. We would like to help supply medical needs that the families have to pay for, that really stretch an already tight budget, or medical needs that the deductibles are so high many families have to go without. Some of the items on the wish lists of these Moms and Dads are just every day items but when you are talking about a medically challenged child they are needed in excess. Some of these families because of the special needs of the children have had to be reduced to a one income family. Most employers frown on their employees missing up to a week of work at a time because a child is in the hospital. Johnathan the Brave was in the hospital last year for half the month of July and all but 4 days in August, plus about 2 weeks out of every other month. We are not starting this fundraiser just for Johnathan the Brave, I am just using him as an example because I know his needs the best.
Mighty Mason, who will be 4 in September, is another of God's Little Warriors that we have met through Hopekids. He and his family, like all the other Hopekids families we have met, are truly amazing, even though they struggle every day to pay the bills, pay the rent and supply Mason with the things he needs to thrive, they are always there to help other families in time of need. Mason has been officially diagnosed with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, chiari malformation, bronchi pulmonary dysplasia, asthma, sleep apnea, schizencephaly, cortical vision impairment, optic nerve hypoplasia, immune deficiency, and failure to thrive. Unfortunately, because he is on so many medicines to regulate his epilepsy and bronchi pulmonary dysplasia, as well as his immune deficiency, he has to be on other medicines to control the effects of the other. Since Mason was born he has been a fighter. They went from being told that he would not live more than a few hours and if he did he would be in a vegetative state, to having a mighty warrior that has defied all odds and proven every doctor wrong.
I have found that these Little Warriors have hearts as big a mountain, smiles that will melt the coldest of hearts, and strength to fight huge battles that most of us can't even imagine. Mighty Mason and Johnathan the Brave are a couple of our poster children. I will share more of their stories and pictures as we go along. I will also share other Little Warriors' stories as they become available.
I am setting this campaign at $10,000 to see where God is going to take it. Our goal is to reach out to as many hurting families as we can. A special car seat for a child with epilepsy depending on the size of the child can run upwards from $800, a special wheelchair can run $2,000 to $3,000, an IV pole that will hold all the pumps and bags of fluids and not easily tip over will run hundreds of dollars. The home health company only has small IV poles that won't hold more than 2 small pumps and 2 small bags of fluids, a lot of these children need way more than that. Some of the smaller everyday items, that Moms have said stretch their budgets that are already too tight include: baby wipes, saline wipes for stomas, child sized medical masks for sick siblings, adult medical masks for parents or nurses during dressing changes, small gift cards for food during hospital stays or gas to get the hospital or doctor's appointments, simple games or crafts for the inpatient child or siblings, purified water, extra syringes for medications, diaper ointments, Clorox Wipes, lotions, overnight pullups for larger kids, sensory toys, harnesses for wheelchairs for children with seizers, portable fans for wheelchairs, cup holders for wheelchairs, back packs for feeding pumps and bags of fluid, toiletries for parents for hospital stays, pad inserts for diapers for larger children, and puréed food/baby food.
We are going to be trying to work through Hopekids AZ, and Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa, AZ at this time to find families that need our help and we are relying on their recommendations. Thank you for helping us reach out to these amazing families.
From Mason's Mom: Through all of this Mason has persevered and continues to amaze us each day. He is now walking and learning how to talk. He was recently approved for an Augcom device that will talk for him so he can communicate with us. I know in my heart God gave us Mason to teach us all what a miracle he is. We are so blessed and I thank God each day for our miracle. He teaches us just as much as we teach him.
From Johnathan's Mom: Some days what these Mito kids go through doesn’t even seem possible, and often it takes things occurring inpatient at the hospital for even doctors to realize they are not only possible but the very difficult reality these kids face each and every day. They are wise beyond their years, they get angry and scared, they find joy in the small moments and most of all they bring joy and love to all those around them. My bright, beautiful boy is truly a gift from God and he lights up the world around him. I know his siblings and I would not be who we are without his struggle, but I would take it in a heartbeat. So hold your babies close, don’t stress so much about the mess, and be slow to anger when they do something crazy. Tomorrow is never promised, we only have today so make sure you have nothing to regret saying or not saying when the day comes to a close, and embrace all those little moments that stay with you forever. I pray I have many, many, many more years with Johnathan as well as my other two, but if I don’t I want a billion memories to see me through.
Thank you for reading our story, for your donations and for sharing our story.
Organizer
Bonnie Lambert
Organizer
Chandler, AZ
Life Passage Ministries
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
