
Make Anthony Walk Again
I am campaigning to help my best friend and her family in this desperate time of need. November 11th 2016 my nephew Anthony (her son) was in a tragic accident at Sky Zone Trampoline park that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
My best friends story:
Lori at the age of 17 was also in a tragic car accident, involving a driving school. She had broken her neck c4/c5. That day she found out she was pregnant with Anthony. She was left with the decision to abort and have the necessary surgery to fix her spine, or keep her pregnancy and wear a halo to try to stabilized her neck during the pregnancy. Well, as you guys can figure she opted to keep her son. Doctors were not happy and told Lori that she will not survive this and neither would her unborn child. She beat the odds. Lori since then has had 2 more children and married her childhood friend. Tragedy struck again when in early 2016 she was diagnosed with metastatic thyroid cancer. Fast growing doctors needed to remove the thyroid. It took a few months to recover from the cancer but she seemed to beating the odds when recently the doctors found a new growth in the recovering area. Doctors are still unsure what the next steps are.
Anthony's story:
Born a "miracle child" Anthony began to beat the odds since he was still in the womb. Born a healthy 6lbs 14ounces, he was the joy in everyone's eye. Always full of lots of energy. As a child he lived a normal regular life. But seemed to not fit in anywhere. His parents tried every sport under the sun from football to wrestling, baseball to basketball, when finally he discovered the world of parkour/freerunning. He was always outside flipping and making himself obstacles to jump over. His mom decided if this is what he wanted to do, she would take him somewhere to learn more. Blakes was a place where he learned techniques for what he loved. He had gotten so good with his tumbling and free running skills that they asked him if he could work there and teach the younger kids how to do parkour. While he worked there he was then introduced to the world of cheer by Coach Jamie. He actually had no choice to join the team. But then Cheer and tumbling became his life. A little after the season was over, he a suffered a growth plate injury to his right ankle. Recovering was very easy as he joined a new team Titans, and life became like no other to him. Another bump on the road hit Anthony while during practice he landed on his left ankle and crushed it in several places, needing reconstructive ankle surgery. This was a long recovery process with home school and lots of PT. But once again he recovered 100 percent. Joining an all new team closer to home All Star One Big Bang for 2016/2017. He was training 7 days a week, outside the gym and inside the gym, didn't matter where. He was becoming more and more successful in cheer and tumbling. Luck was not on his side.
Anthony after accident:
Anthony lived in the Trauma ICU for 2 months, where it was literally hell and back for him and his mother. He suffers from quadriplegia. His life will never be the same again. After his discharge there was only one place for him to go which is 2 hrs plus from where his family lives. Kessler Rehabilitation in West Orange NJ. His grandmother left her entire life In North Carolina to be with her grandson 24 hrs while Lori takes care of her other 2 kids and also while her and her husband make the plans for life after Rehab. This family, my best friends family is in desperate financial need, they live in a rental property that is too narrow to even fit a wheel chair through the doorway. They will need to get a new home. A home that they can make accessible for Anthony's needs. They need a van to take him anywhere he wishes to go, and to doctors apoints ect. We need to make Anthonys life as normal and as comfortable as possible and insurance does not cover "luxury" items. Example shower chair! Yes in the eyes of insurance that is a luxury item. Please help this family. My family... let's all help to #MakeAnthonyWalkAgain