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Izzy is a delightful five year old who was born at twenty-eight weeks weighing a whopping two pounds ten ounces. She spent a couple of months in the NICU having typical preemie problems. She's had a few stomach surgeries and is tube fed. She has low tone and is super flexible as a result of her Ehlers Danlos syndrome. She has mild cerebral palsy making half her body weaker than the other side, which also makes simple things like eating, drinking and talking difficult for her. Her lungs are less than perfect as a result of being born early as is her immune system. Her medical diagnosis list is ever-changing, and outside of the primary diagnoses, it is nothing more than a list of problems and symptoms, rather than a single disease that accounts for it all. Gillette's has been essential in creating braces to help correct her physical imperfections and monitor for additional neurological concerns.
Kevin is an awesome seven year old who lives life to its fullest. He was born eight weeks early. He had typical preemie problems in his first year, but he had a run of the mill illness that really changed things for him. What started as febrile seizures turned into epilepsy, but it wasn't obvious at the beginning because his fevers weren't going away after he got 'healthy.' He has several genetic anomalies that we don't know the significance of. The family knows what areas of the body they can effect but there are so few people like him they don't know what tomorrow brings. So they celebrate the victories and work on their 'work in progress' areas. Like his sister, he has a couple main diagnoses (epilepsy and premature infant), the rest of his is a list of ever-changing symptoms and problems, that fail to meet a single unifying diagnosis. Gillette's has been in the front of managing his neurological problems and that list is always changing and has given him the gift of freedom, with braces, wheelchair, or medical stroller.
Kevin and Izzy have two additional siblings, Madison and Dani. One has minor asthma, while the other has had increasing health problems as life goes on. She relies on Gillette's to manage her worsening health, and the wonderful things is, she looks optimistically into the future because Gillette's is a place where hope and happiness meet the uncertain future, but people focus on the first two.
Kevin is an awesome seven year old who lives life to its fullest. He was born eight weeks early. He had typical preemie problems in his first year, but he had a run of the mill illness that really changed things for him. What started as febrile seizures turned into epilepsy, but it wasn't obvious at the beginning because his fevers weren't going away after he got 'healthy.' He has several genetic anomalies that we don't know the significance of. The family knows what areas of the body they can effect but there are so few people like him they don't know what tomorrow brings. So they celebrate the victories and work on their 'work in progress' areas. Like his sister, he has a couple main diagnoses (epilepsy and premature infant), the rest of his is a list of ever-changing symptoms and problems, that fail to meet a single unifying diagnosis. Gillette's has been in the front of managing his neurological problems and that list is always changing and has given him the gift of freedom, with braces, wheelchair, or medical stroller.
Kevin and Izzy have two additional siblings, Madison and Dani. One has minor asthma, while the other has had increasing health problems as life goes on. She relies on Gillette's to manage her worsening health, and the wonderful things is, she looks optimistically into the future because Gillette's is a place where hope and happiness meet the uncertain future, but people focus on the first two.
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