Celebrating Inchstones: Exciting news and a request!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Exciting news and a request!

Our super sweet mito friends have been accepted into a drug trial for a promising new treatment for mito. They will have to travel from Millington to Ohio every 3 months while Jackson is in the trial. They are selling Boston butts, turkeys and hams from Corky's to help with the expenses. I can't even tell you how deserving this family is! Emily raises money for the UMDF with a 5K in March every ye ar. She organizes our family meetings and welcomes newly diagnosed families into the area. They are true mito warriors and now they need some support of their own! This drug is having amazing results on many of the kids in the trials. Asa doesn't have the type of mito they are trialing the drug on but they think the drug will help all mito patients. It is truly the first promising treatment for mito! I'm so exciting for Jackson and his family! If any of you local friends place an order let me know and I'll pick your order up when I get mine. I'll deliver right to your door! And if you aren't interested in the meat then please consider just sending a donation. I'm terrible at fundraising and asking for money but this family really deserves this chance! So, here's Emily's Facebook message: Ok FB Friends.... I am selling Corky's Smoked Boston Butts $25.00 (4.5lbs. feeds 10-12), Spiral Sliced Honey Glazed Hams $40.00 (8lbs. feeds 12-15), and Smoked Turkeys $30.00 (8lbs. feeds 12-15) just in time for football season, Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Years! All meat will be fully cooked, wrapped, bagged and then frozen for food safety. They will be delivered in a Corky's gift box with heating instructions included. In order to be delivered by Thanksgiving I must have all orders by 10 A.M. on Nov. 13th. Orders can be picked up on Nov. 20th with time and place to be announced. You can pay me in person or mail me a check. I must have the money when I place the order on the 13th. I know this is quick so spread the word fast! Email all orders to me at Mitojack@gmail.com Mail checks to Emily Culley 8852 Herring Hill Millington, Tn 38053 Thank you all so much for your support through out this mito journey! Here's Jackson's blog if you want to get more info on the sweet guy!

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Asa's story

Asa is the 4th and youngest in this family. We thought he'd come into this world and our lives would flow right along as it had the other 3 times we brought babies into this world.

We were wrong! After a normal pregnancy and delivery, Asa had to be sent to the NICU because he wasn't sucking, blood sugar dropping, floppy muscles, exaggerated startle reflex and jaundice.

He stayed 5 days were he learned to suck and eat enough to come home. He began nursing well but would scream in pain 30 minutes after each feeding. He had so much mucus and drooled so much. He had a terrible rash on his face. He wasn't making eye contact and was not hitting any milestones.

I kept taking him to the pediatrician but got nowhere until his 2 month checkup when he had only gained one pound since birth. That earned him an appt with a pediatric GI and a change to Neocate formula. Odd gasping spells and eye rolling got him into a pediatric neurologist before the GI appt. The neurologist (he was actually the head of the pediatric neurology dept) personally walked us over to the GI clinic and sat us in an exam room. That kinda makes you worry! That is when we really got the ball rolling. Asa was 3 months old.

At 4 months he was admitted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. He stayed 8 days and had a NG tube inserted so we could feed him directly into his stomach. He kept this for 2 months. Also during this time he had an EEG, CT scan, MRI, upper GI endoscopy with biopsy, flex sig, numerous blood tests, a genetics consult, and an ophthalmology consult and many other pokes and prods! So began our relationship with specialist!!

After 2 months on the NG tube, we removed it and tried to get Asa to eat enough to gain weight. He did OK for a little while but by 9 months old, he was fighting each feeding and not gaining weight despite being on Neocate formula at 30cal/oz. The decision was made to have a G-tube put in. The G-tube is a feeding tube that is inserted directly into Asa's belly. He can eat orally but won't so he gets feed into his belly.

Since he was going to have to be sedated for the surgery, it was agreed he should have a muscle biopsy at the same time. By 9 months he had finally began making eye contact. He smiled some but not very social. He was still very hypotonic (floppy) and didn't even have head control. Something was obviously going on with his muscles. All of his brain scans had been normal.

In Nov. 2008, when Asa was 13 months old, we found out the results of the muscle biopsy. Yes, it took 3+ months to get all of the results! He was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Myopathy. He is deficient in Complex IV for all of you medical junkies out there.

What this means is that his cells can't make enough energy to fuel his body....specifically for him, his muscles and GI system, that we know of. If his body has to burn energy to fight off infection, or a stress, then he looses energy in another system. Mito is a progressive disease with no treatment or cure. We try to keep him as healthy and happy as possible. We use the feeding tube to keep him feed so he doesn't have to struggle there. He takes numerous supplements and vitamins in the hope that they will keep him cells healthier. We check his eyes, hearing, heart, kidneys, liver, brain and lots of blood work yearly. Mito can affect any system so it is important to have baseline and watch for changes. He has a GI, neuro, geneticist, optometrist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, developmental ped, regular ped and a mito specialist.

He gets OT, PT, speech/feeding and a home teacher weekly. He has some sensory issues with touch, sound, taste and texture. This plays into almost all areas of our lives! He is still very hypotonic but gained head control at just over a year (right after we started supplements!). He learned to sit when placed in a sitting position at 18 months. He still can't get into sitting alone. He learned to bottom scoot at just over 2. He does not crawl or walk.

He knows the signs for "moma", "daddy", "more" and "all done". He can show them when prompted but we are still waiting for him to initiate. He waves "bye-bye" and points all the time now. He loves to take a bath and water in general. He has a contagious laugh and can flash the most flirty grin ever!

We learned, with Asa, not take the small things for granted. Each smile, sound, word, bite or even trouble!! You just never know when they might not be so easy to come by or even if you'll have them at all!