Support Adria Gerig

Support Adria Gerig

Our daughter, Adria Gerig, was born with Spina Bifida on November 19, 2013. Her journey has been amazing and truly a testimony to God’s faithfulness and healing power! She is 7 (almost 8) years old now and in second grade at Pettisville Elementary School. Adria loves art, gymnastics, swimming, and her family and friends! Over the summer she learned to ride a bike, and swim with no floaties! She is excelling in academics, and a great reader for her age. We are so blessed by her courage and determination to tackle hard things. She doesn’t consider herself any different, or feel bad for herself when she has to work harder than others. She is kind and caring, and a joy to be around.

Adria has recently been diagnosed with a cyst on her spine that is actively growing. It is in the original Spina Bifida repair site. It is putting pressure on the nerves, and the nerves are growing around it to try and find space. It has been decided that now is the best time to go ahead and have that removed before it starts to cause decline in function. Adria will also have a detethering surgery performed which is where they clean up all the scar tissue and detach the nerves from any surrounding structures. She will spend a couple days in the PICU, and the remainder of the week on the regular pediatric floor. The surgeon is very confident that this surgery can be performed without Adria losing any function that she currently has to her lower body. We are so grateful for this.

Adria is no stranger to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and completed 2 full rounds when she was 2 months old and again at 10 months old. The goal was to assist with healing from the surgeries and trauma she experienced that first year. We are hoping to do some more HBOT therapy after this surgery as well. It has been proven that HBOT not only speeds up healing, but decreases inflammation, pain, and risk of infection. Especially due to the location of this surgery being on her spinal cord, we want to do as much as we can to help her heal well with no complications. We are also hoping to do additional Conductive Education (CE), as recommended by her surgeon, in order for Adria to regain her endurance and mobility after surgery.

There is a facility here in Northwest Ohio that Adria has gone to for these services in the past called Sara’s Garden. Sara’s Garden is the only non-profit center in the United States to offer both HBOT and CE services and specializes in working with clients with neuromotor disabilities. We are so grateful for this center, the staff, and the care that they have provided Adria over the last 8 years! They are incredible and have been instrumental in Adria’s mobility and development. We believe that we would not be where we are today without them!

Unfortunately, in the United States insurance companies do not recognize HBOT and CE as being therapeutic for the treatment of neuromotor disabilities and therefore will not cover the cost for treatments. That is why we could really use your help. HBOT for post-surgical healing is only $150 per treatment and CE is only $35 per hour at Sara’s Garden.

If you could assist us with the cost (or even just part of the cost) of a single $150 HBOT treatment or $35 hour of CE it would help reduce our overall expenses greatly. 100% of the funds received go into an account in Adria’s name and will be used for her treatments. Any contribution made would be considered a tax-deductible donation as Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) non-profit facility. Checks can be made out to Sara’s Garden with Adria’s name on a sheet of paper accompanying the check. Please do NOT write her name directly on the check. You can also donate online via credit card by clicking on the DONATE NOW button below.

We believe that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Conductive Education services at Sara’s Garden will significantly aid in Adria’s post-surgical healing process.

Thank you so much for considering to support Adria’s treatments at Sara’s Garden!

Amber & Travis Gerig

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Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) organization. Your charitable contribution is tax deductible under 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, to the extent allowed by law. A receipt will be sent to you after your pledge has been received to use for tax purposes.

Support Kennedy Johnson

Support Kennedy Johnson

As most of you know, on Feb 17, 2019, our lives changed forever. My daughter, Kennedy, was visiting with her father from out of town. She started complaining of a terrible headache. As time went on, she began vomiting and then became unresponsive. Getting the call from her father was the most horrific call a parent could ever get. Kennedy was unresponsive and barely breathing. We immediately rushed her to the hospital where she had to be intubated before she was life-flighted to another hospital.

My heart was not prepared for what I heard next. Kennedy’s CT scan showed a 3.6 by 3.5 cm mass in her brain. On Feb 20th, 2019, surgery was performed to biopsy and remove the tumor that was pushing on very crucial areas of her brain. She was extubated Feb 23 and discharged home after 2 and a half weeks in the hospital.

Kennedy’s brain tumor was diagnosed as a Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma (JPA). A JPA is a cystic (fluid-filled) tumor, not a solid mass. On the WHO’s grading scale, a JPA is a Grade I tumor, highly unlikely to grow or to spread to other areas. Unfortunately, Kennedy still suffers from side effects of the tumor. She experiences Cranial Nerve IV palsy in her right eye. This causes her to have intermittent double vision due to both eyes not working together due to weak muscles and soft damage to the nerve. She also deals with convergence insufficiency that interrupts visual reading strength, some swallowing difficulties, right-side weakness, mild personality and cognitive changes, as well as emotional trauma.

Kennedy has recently been discharged from OT, PT and speech therapies. She still receives emotional support through our church (Emmanuel Baptist Church), The Victory Center, and Cancer Connection. She does various alternative therapies such as massage, art, and yoga at the Victory Center as well. She also receives various herbal therapies and gets routine MRI’s every 6 months.

We are so thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, caregivers, family and friends that have helped us through such a difficult time. We know that Kennedy has a long, difficult journey ahead of her so we continue to search for every possible treatment option available in order to give her the greatest opportunity for a bright and independent future.

We have recently discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and learned that it has been extremely successful in treating people who suffer from tumors, nerve damage traumatic brain injury. In many cases it has improved the client’s fine and gross motor skills, speech, thinking (cognition), memory, physical healing, etc. I’ve learned that there is a facility right here in Northwest Ohio that we can go to called Sara’s Garden.

Unfortunately, in the United States insurance companies do not recognize HBOT as being therapeutic for the treatment of these conditions and therefore will not cover the cost for treatments. That is why we could really use your help. HBOT for Kennedy is only $100 per treatment at Sara’s Garden. However, since our plan is for her to receive at least 40 HBOT treatments that cost adds up quickly.

If you could assist us with the cost (or even just part of the cost) of a single $100 HBOT treatment it would help reduce our overall expenses greatly. 100% of the funds received go into an account in Kennedy’s name and will be used for her treatments. Any contribution made would be considered a tax-deductible donation as Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) non-profit facility. Checks can be made out to Sara’s Garden with Kennedy’s name on a sheet of paper accompanying the check. Please do NOT write her name directly on the check. You can also donate online via credit card by clicking on the “DONATE NOW” button below.

Thank you so much for considering to support Kennedy’s treatments at Sara’s Garden!

Nicole Hall

Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) organization. Your charitable contribution is tax deductible under 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, to the extent allowed by law. A receipt will be sent to you after your pledge has been received to use for tax purposes.