JAMES' STORY
When James was 4 years old he started having seizures and we discovered that he had congenital hydrocephalus. In July of 2008 we were told that he had scoliosis after routine visit with his doctor. He was referred to an orthopedic doctor who sent him for a MRI. The test results from the MRI showed that he had a congenital tethered cord and fluid on his spine. The doctor told us his scoliosis was severe and he needed surgery. Before he could have the spinal fusion surgery the tethered cord had to be released. So Jan 29, 2009 James had surgery to release his tethered cord. Once the tethered cord was released the neurosurgeon cleared him to have the spinal fusion surgery.
On May 20, 2009, James, my 11-year-old son, underwent spinal fusion surgery. Immediately after the surgery, James was returned to his room in the P.I.C.U. and we were told everything went well. The next morning after his surgery James was fine, he was talking to me, my husband and other family members that called or came to the hospital to check on how his surgery went. We spent most of that day watching some of his favorite movies, Hell Boy II, The Dark Knight, X-Men and The Last Stand. At 3:45pm, my husband and I had to pick up his brother and sisters from school. This was the first time we ever left him alone at the hospital. When we left, James was fine and he was still watching his movies. As we walked out of the hospital room, James told us that he loved us.
Unfortunately, my husband and I have not heard James utter that phrase again since May 21, 2009. When I returned to the hospital at 8:00 pm, I found my baby boy alone in his room with all the alarms going off and James was unresponsive. His brain stem herniated and he went into cardiac arrest twice, James wasn't breathing and now he was in a coma with brain damage. All of this happened 28 hours after we were told everything went well with his surgery. The doctors told our family that he only had 24-72 hours left to live and we should consider taking him off of life support. My husband and I refused to give up on James. On May 29, 2009 we transferred him to the Children Hospital of Philadelphia after a nurse suggested that we get a second opinion. Within a few days of transferring him, James opened his eyes again. After being at C.H.O.P for a month and 3 surgeries later, James was transferred to a children's rehabilitation hospital where he stayed for 3 months. On Oct. 5, 2009, James came home to his three sisters and two brothers who have been camping out in his room waiting for him to come home and play with them again.
Currently, James needs total nursing care 24 hours, 7-days a week. James still breaths with a ventilator and eats his meals through a feeding tube. He can sometimes squeeze your hand, move his toes, head, and arms on command, however he is not consistent. James has physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. We put in the application for home instruction for school in September and I have been calling the school system almost daily, and still haven't received any help for James. While searching on the internet for ways to help James, my husband and I came across hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the wonderful miracles that it has done for so many people like James.
Before this happened, James was a loving warm-hearted 11-year-old boy who just wanted to be the same as everybody else. He never wanted anyone to know his pain, and what he had to deal with medically. Everyone who met him fell in love with him. James had a desire to be a cartoonist; he was going to make his own super heroes. A couple of months before his surgery, James started writing his own comic about his very own superhero that he called "Lion Man". James loves all of Marvel Comic's characters, Star Wars, Transformers and Bionicles. We believe that if James has the opportunity to have hyperbaric oxygen therapy that it would help him a great deal. Unfortunately, health insurance does not cover these costly treatments, and this is one of the only known treatments for his injury. As a result, we need your help to raise money so that James can receive this therapy and other medical supplies that insurance doesn't cover. We truly believe will make a difference in our son's life. Please find it in your heart to help James. Any donation to James, regardless of the amount would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to read James' Story :
The Thompson Family
On May 20, 2009, James, my 11-year-old son, underwent spinal fusion surgery. Immediately after the surgery, James was returned to his room in the P.I.C.U. and we were told everything went well. The next morning after his surgery James was fine, he was talking to me, my husband and other family members that called or came to the hospital to check on how his surgery went. We spent most of that day watching some of his favorite movies, Hell Boy II, The Dark Knight, X-Men and The Last Stand. At 3:45pm, my husband and I had to pick up his brother and sisters from school. This was the first time we ever left him alone at the hospital. When we left, James was fine and he was still watching his movies. As we walked out of the hospital room, James told us that he loved us.
Unfortunately, my husband and I have not heard James utter that phrase again since May 21, 2009. When I returned to the hospital at 8:00 pm, I found my baby boy alone in his room with all the alarms going off and James was unresponsive. His brain stem herniated and he went into cardiac arrest twice, James wasn't breathing and now he was in a coma with brain damage. All of this happened 28 hours after we were told everything went well with his surgery. The doctors told our family that he only had 24-72 hours left to live and we should consider taking him off of life support. My husband and I refused to give up on James. On May 29, 2009 we transferred him to the Children Hospital of Philadelphia after a nurse suggested that we get a second opinion. Within a few days of transferring him, James opened his eyes again. After being at C.H.O.P for a month and 3 surgeries later, James was transferred to a children's rehabilitation hospital where he stayed for 3 months. On Oct. 5, 2009, James came home to his three sisters and two brothers who have been camping out in his room waiting for him to come home and play with them again.
Currently, James needs total nursing care 24 hours, 7-days a week. James still breaths with a ventilator and eats his meals through a feeding tube. He can sometimes squeeze your hand, move his toes, head, and arms on command, however he is not consistent. James has physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. We put in the application for home instruction for school in September and I have been calling the school system almost daily, and still haven't received any help for James. While searching on the internet for ways to help James, my husband and I came across hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the wonderful miracles that it has done for so many people like James.
Before this happened, James was a loving warm-hearted 11-year-old boy who just wanted to be the same as everybody else. He never wanted anyone to know his pain, and what he had to deal with medically. Everyone who met him fell in love with him. James had a desire to be a cartoonist; he was going to make his own super heroes. A couple of months before his surgery, James started writing his own comic about his very own superhero that he called "Lion Man". James loves all of Marvel Comic's characters, Star Wars, Transformers and Bionicles. We believe that if James has the opportunity to have hyperbaric oxygen therapy that it would help him a great deal. Unfortunately, health insurance does not cover these costly treatments, and this is one of the only known treatments for his injury. As a result, we need your help to raise money so that James can receive this therapy and other medical supplies that insurance doesn't cover. We truly believe will make a difference in our son's life. Please find it in your heart to help James. Any donation to James, regardless of the amount would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to read James' Story :
The Thompson Family
You can also mail donations to
HELP JAMES,
P.O. Box 33071,
Trenton, NJ 08629
