Rogers family medical needs
Donation protected
From the Tallahassee Democrat, Sept. 4, 2016:
The Rogers family had taken the hurricane precautions they were supposed to take – stocking up on canned food and water for their Indian Head Acres home.
Dawn and Rob also got the necessary medications refilled for their 2-year-old daughter Luna, a special needs child who has hydrocephalus, or, more commonly, water on the brain. She suffers from seizures and breathing problems.
It wasn’t until Hurricane Hermine blew through Tallahassee Thursday night and the power to their house on Toochin Nene went out that they realized Luna was in danger.
“She started having breathing difficulties and we were wondering, ‘Oh my god, what are we going to do if she has an asthma attack?’” Dawn said. “With her seizure medications, if she gets hot or dizzy then she vomits and it causes her to seize more. That can cause brain damage.”
Among the medications Luna needs to take is Albuterol, a bronchodilator normally prescribed for asthma to relax muscles that surround airways. It’s administered through a nebulizer, a machine which turns a liquid into a mist to be more easily inhaled by the lungs. Without power, the Rogers weren’t able to use it.
Her parents had to go buy a generator unexpectedly – an expensive cost to run an otherwise inexpensive $30 machine – until neighborhood power is finally restored.
That could be two weeks.
“Electricity is a necessity,” Dawn said. “The generator was $699. Then we’re buying gas and gas cans. We spent $1,000. It was a shock. We’ll probably sell one of my cars because we just used our mortgage money to pay for it.”
In the days since the storm passed, the family has pulled out camping equipment and set up a makeshift kitchen in their carport.
Luna, however, needs more delicate care.
“She’s been very lethargic, nauseous,” Dawn said. “She does a thing called sun-downing where her seizures become aggravated. She’s been having focal seizures, which are different. Normally, she has grand mal seizures, but these little seizures actually escalate to a big one. I’m just hoping we don’t have to drive to Shands with all of this.”
Please help offset the costs this family incurred and allow them to keep their car!
Indian Head Acres hanging on after Hurricane Hermine beating
1. I, Brian Miller, am a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and I met this family while working on a story about Hurricane Hermine.
2. I will be withdrawing these funds and personally delivering them to the family this week (Sept. 5-9).
3. Thank you all for the community support in a time of need. It's nice to be able to lend a helping hand and you made it possible.
The Rogers family had taken the hurricane precautions they were supposed to take – stocking up on canned food and water for their Indian Head Acres home.
Dawn and Rob also got the necessary medications refilled for their 2-year-old daughter Luna, a special needs child who has hydrocephalus, or, more commonly, water on the brain. She suffers from seizures and breathing problems.
It wasn’t until Hurricane Hermine blew through Tallahassee Thursday night and the power to their house on Toochin Nene went out that they realized Luna was in danger.
“She started having breathing difficulties and we were wondering, ‘Oh my god, what are we going to do if she has an asthma attack?’” Dawn said. “With her seizure medications, if she gets hot or dizzy then she vomits and it causes her to seize more. That can cause brain damage.”
Among the medications Luna needs to take is Albuterol, a bronchodilator normally prescribed for asthma to relax muscles that surround airways. It’s administered through a nebulizer, a machine which turns a liquid into a mist to be more easily inhaled by the lungs. Without power, the Rogers weren’t able to use it.
Her parents had to go buy a generator unexpectedly – an expensive cost to run an otherwise inexpensive $30 machine – until neighborhood power is finally restored.
That could be two weeks.
“Electricity is a necessity,” Dawn said. “The generator was $699. Then we’re buying gas and gas cans. We spent $1,000. It was a shock. We’ll probably sell one of my cars because we just used our mortgage money to pay for it.”
In the days since the storm passed, the family has pulled out camping equipment and set up a makeshift kitchen in their carport.
Luna, however, needs more delicate care.
“She’s been very lethargic, nauseous,” Dawn said. “She does a thing called sun-downing where her seizures become aggravated. She’s been having focal seizures, which are different. Normally, she has grand mal seizures, but these little seizures actually escalate to a big one. I’m just hoping we don’t have to drive to Shands with all of this.”
Please help offset the costs this family incurred and allow them to keep their car!
Indian Head Acres hanging on after Hurricane Hermine beating
1. I, Brian Miller, am a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and I met this family while working on a story about Hurricane Hermine.
2. I will be withdrawing these funds and personally delivering them to the family this week (Sept. 5-9).
3. Thank you all for the community support in a time of need. It's nice to be able to lend a helping hand and you made it possible.
Organiser
Brian Miller
Organiser
Tallahassee, FL
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