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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Update on Andrew! Please vote for him too!

Hi everybody! I wanted to give you all an update. Andrew has been doing a little better. He has had a few set backs in the past month. He did get fitted and received his new wheelchair. Angie snapped a photo of him in it. I am posting it below. I love this picture. He is smiling. I love to see him smile!
Andrew also had a birthday!! He turned 19 years old last month. Angie and Bob got him a pizza and with your donations they were able to purchase him a tablet so he can communicate with them now. I will post pics of him using it when I can. He was so excited about it too. Thank you all for the donations coming in. They are working on getting housing. They have money saved up from donations as well and Bob is working when he is not helping Angie with Drew too. They haven't been able to find housing yet. Read below for more about this topic. They also are trying to get a handicapped accessible van.  In their hometown there is a contest to win one and Angie has entered Andrew into it. This would truly be a HUGE help to them if he wins. As you know, they are still trying to raise money to move to an apartment that will accommodate Andrew and a van to get him to and from doctor visits. They really need to win this. I have been voting and sharing on facebook. It only takes a minute to vote. You don't have to make an account or anything. You just fill out the survey in the top right and click vote. If you answer the question correctly, you get an extra vote. Please take a minute to vote and share on facebook, pinterest, and twitter. The more people that see this, the better chance they have at winning. Thank you in advance to all those that have already voted. It means alot to the family to have your support. 


They have received a few donations from people here. They are so grateful for all they have received. Thank you sooo very much! They are still needing more donations so share the blog url on Facebook too. So far, they have purchased a tablet for Andrew with some of the donations they received and are saving the rest to pay for housing and a van, if they don't win the contest. The tablet is helping him communicate with people. He is really enjoying it. I will post pictures of him using it soon so check back often! All the donations received are for Andrew only. He really appreciates all that has been done/donated to help him. He has such a big heart. 

He will be released from the Children's Institute in about 8 more weeks. Angie has had a very hard time finding housing for them to move to. They have not been approved where they are living now for Andrew to come home because they live in a 2nd floor apartment. She has contacted every agency she can think of to help with no luck. Here is an explanation of what she is going through and what all she has done. She posted this on her facebook so I thought I would share it here. If you know of any organization that can help them, please contact Angie as soon as possible. She does not want Andrew to have to go to a nursing home.

Note from Andrew's mom. She posted this on facebook. If you know where they can find help, Please email me @ kberlie68@yahoo.com. I will get you in contact with her asap. They are running out of time. 8 weeks will be here before we know it.

"my son Andrew never had a enemy. He was a friend to everyone he met. At only 18 yrs. old he worked 3 jobs & was planning on attending CCAC next fall. He was the type of kid that would bring home total strangers to sneak into our basement to sleep if they had no where else to go. When my husband gets no construction work, Andrew always came though with the bill money. No complaints, just a great kid everyone loved. He always had a smile on his face & a great attitude even though losing his dad at age 10 who he was extremely close to. On December 4,2012 our lives changed forever. While at a friends apartment he fell 20 plus feet on to the concrete landing on his head back & neck. Blood was pouring from his ears, eyes, mouth & nose. He was rushed to UPMC Presbyterian hospital, where we were told he probably wouldn't make it. He had hours of surgery. 15 hours brain surgery plus hours of neck surgery where they replaced his neck bones with a titanium cage. He did make it. Thank God but was left a complete quadriplegic. He has no movement below his shoulders except to bend his elbows inward. He is what is called a c-5 quadriplegic. He lives with a trach tube implanted in his neck to clear secretions. He's also on a ventilator to breath for him. But his mind is totally fine except for some minor short term memory loss. He spent 5 weeks in ICU, & is now in the children's institute for spinal cord injuries. Our huge problem is for 4 months we have been looking for housing & absolutely nothing. I have called every agency I can find. All the disabled housing & high rises have a 1-4 year waiting list. I have contacted Easter seals, United Way, Disability Resources of PA, Urban League, all the housing authorities. 30 churches.catholic charities, salvation army, Red Cross, Christopher Reeves Foundation, the list is endless. I'm on Craigslist every day. We now live on 2nd floor & Andrew will go to a nursing home unless we find suitable housing which cannot happen. He's my only child & the love of my life. We have money saved & are not asking for any handouts at all. We are willing to pay full rent & also my husband is a licensed electrician contractor, & licensed in heating & air & will do all free work on top of rent for properties. We are down to 9 wks. to find a place. We need a 2 bedroom 1st floor apt. or a ranch style home with no stairs which has been impossible to find. Please save my sons life, he will die in a nursing home. Please help us bring Andrew home. You are my last hope. Thank you so much, sincerely, Angela Allen"




Andrew's new chair. 




Andrew's birthday




Friday, February 22, 2013

Andrew is in ICU but he is in good spirits

This week has been up and down for Andrew. The other night he had a set back and is in the ICU right now. The doctors say that with spinal cord injuries, your body has to adjust. This could take up to 2 years for his body to completely adjust. While it is adjusting, he could go through many episodes of very high fevers. These extremely high fevers cause other problems as well. That is what happened this week. He had a fever of 105.6. Fever this high causes cardiac arrest & respiratory failure. As of today, he is stable. He is still in the ICU and is waiting on test results. He is in very good spirits as usual, though!
I also want to share his mom's facebook status with you too. She posted, "Just want to share a story about my amazing son. If u ever met my son u would be amazed at his attitude & outlook. Just last week his doctors ordered him antidepressants. He refused them by saying 'depressed? I'm not depressed & I don't need them'. We should all be lucky enough to have such a positive outlook on our short little lives."

Here are a few pictures from Wednesday night.




Monday, February 18, 2013

Andrew did good in Rehab today

Angie sent me a picture I just HAD to share here! The doctors said Drew would never be able to raise his hands or use them. AND LOOK AT HIM NOW!! This picture really made my day! He is raising both arms all on his own. This is a HUGE step for him. GO DREW!!! You show them doctors you can do it! I really belive this is a miracle. All of your prayers are working!! Thank you God and Thank you to all that have been praying for him. This is AWESOME!! Please leave any comments you might have in the chat box to the right. And thank you to all that have sent donations. 
His mom says he is always ready for rehab. She says he is in good spirits and does whatever the nurses and therapists ask him to do no matter how bad he is feeling. 
Drew really appreciates all the comments and donations. We LOVE you DREW!!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Donate Here

PayPal donations. I am posting this here to see if it will come up on mobile devices. If you are having problems, please just let me know. There is also a donate button to the right if you are viewing this on a computer/laptop. Just click the donation button to donate through PayPal or with a credit card. When you click the link it will take you to PayPal website. You will have to log in to finish the transaction. If you would like to send a check, contact me through email and I will send you an address. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you to all that helped!
If you would like to send a donation by check please email kberlie68@yahoo.com for mailing address. 




Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Andrew's Story

This blog was made for my good friend, Andrew Allen.


I will introduce myself first. My name is Kimberly. I have opened this blog in order to help Andrew through this difficult time. Not only does he need help financially, but he needs it emotionally too. I am running this blog as a friend and not gaining anything from it monetarily. Any money donated goes directly to a fund set up just for Andrew. I have been friends with his mother since grade school. Her name is Angie Allen. They live near Pittsburg, PA. He was paralyzed from the neck down on Dec. 05, 2012. He is only 18 years old and has already been through more than any of us will ever have to endure. In the early morning hours of Dec.5th, he fell 2 stories from his apartment complex balcony due to a faulty railing. He broke his neck, fractured his skull, and broke his back. He has had many surgeries because of this accident. He was on life support for 6 weeks. His surgeries were on his brain and skull, his back, and his neck. They removed his C5, C6, & C7 disks in his spine and replaced them with rods and a steel cage. His neck surgery lasted 19 hours. He also injured his ear drum, which they had to remove. So Andrew can only hear out of one ear now. They also had to remove a portion of his brain. His brain surgery lasted 15 hrs. The good news is he does not have brain damage, but he does have quite a bit of memory loss. He also had to have back surgery to fix his broken back. This surgery was another 6 hours in the operating room. The doctors had him in a medically induced coma for a week due to all the trauma he had to go through. He is currently on a treache and a ventilator to help him breathe. He will probably have to stay on these for the rest of his life because he cannot clear his own secretions and he can not breathe on his own. His diaphragm is also paralyzed.

He is currently in Children's Institute of Pittsburgh hospital. I also have set up a care page for him there too. I am still working on it, so I will post all information on it in a different post. Here is the url for the carepage. http://www.carepages.com/carepages/AndrewsFight2013#

  He has been going through some rehab. He is shown some improvement. This is a picture of him the other day. It was good to see a smile on his face.



He has been depressed since he has woken up. He still is not able to speak because of the treache but he knows he is paralyzed. The doctors do not know how affected his speech will be. Only time will tell this. His mom, Angie has had alot of stress as well. Her life has competely changed now too. She has been there by his side since the accident.


Any kind of support for him and her both would be greatly appreciated, whether emotionally or monetary. They need words of encouragement too. I have added a chat box to the right of the blog so you can leave them an uplifting comment to make him feel better. Please, no mean comments from anyone. Be respectful when posting. These comments will be read to Andrew and hopefully he will be able to read them one day too. Due to his injuries, he is now a c5 quadriplegic. He is paralyzed from his neck down. He will not be able to walk or use his hands. He will have to have 24 hour care for the rest of his life. He will not be able clothe himself or feed himself. He does have medicaid but there are so many other expenses that medicaid will not cover. This is a huge change for him and his family as well. Taking care of him will be a full time job for his mom too. This is making it even harder for her because she is not going to be able to work and care for him at the same time. I am asking for any kind of donation to help this family out. The doctors have said Andrew will be released from the hospital in 12 weeks. Right now they are in need of help to move and a handicapped accessible van. Since they live on the 2nd floor, they have to find a handicapped accessible apartment to live in. She does not have savings to do this with so she really need help. I am trying to raise enough through this blog to help them move and to put a down payment on a van that can transport Andrew to and from the doctor and rehab sessions. Angie would also love to hear any advice you may have on where to look for assistance or programs for quadriplegics. Like I said before all this is new to both of them. She has done some research for programs but has not found much help. They have a long road ahead of them. I will use this blog as inspiration for Andrew and Angie, as well. I will post updates and pictures of his healing and the recovery process, as well as learning how to live with a disability. Keep them in your prayers too. God is amazing and miracles can happen through prayer. We all have hope!

Please become a follower so you can join us in his journey! To donate money in any amount, click the PayPal button to the right. Please pass this blog url around too and let's get the word out to help this family! Thank you for taking the time to read and follow this blog.

Donations

PayPal donations. Just click the donation button to donate through paypal or with a credit card. Any amount is greatly appreciated. If you would like to send a donation by check please email kberlie68@yahoo.com for mailing address.

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