Support for Liam Saturday, October 12, 2013 Rocks and Valleys Off Road Park
08-07-2013, 10:05 PM
#1
JK Super Freak
Thread Starter
Hey everyone!
I am posting this event up here with hopes anyone in the area, or anyone that is able to travel can possibly attend. This is one event that the reasoning behind (especially if you have a younger child) makes you really sit down and think.
Support for Liam
Date 10/12/2013
Location Rocks and Valleys Off Road Park Harrison, MI
Quite a few of our sponsoring vendors here at JK-Forum are on board (Personal major THANK YOU to all!) and will be donating items for raffles and silent auctions throughout the day.
Just a quick summary of how I come to know about all of this.
Several months back, I was having a little problem with my ProCal and called AEV Tech Support where I was greeted by a great guy and now happy to call friend Greg Henderson. A lot of you here may already know him as he is an avid Jeeper just like the rest of us and is very involved with the Jeep community.
We resolved my ProCal concern, and then onto the subject of what else? Jeeps of course
After discussing Jeeps for awhile we touched on another subject which was our children. I was telling him about me being relatively new to the dad world with my 2 1/2 yr old, and how happy I was to be a parent not knowing the happiness a child would bring to my life.
We started talking about his children, particularly his youngest infant son Liam, where instantly I could tell a change in his voice and how hard the words coming through the phone were to talk about. Liam had suffered a massive brain bleed at the age of 7 months. I could try telling Liam's story but I think he tells it best so I am doing a copy and paste directly from the Prayers and Support for Baby Liam's Facebook page. Please take the time to read whether you are a parent or not.
Baby Liam's Story:
Baby Liam.jpg
When I was 7 months old I arrived at the hospital in an ambulance at around noon, in mid December. I was in the emergency room with a flurry of activity; doctors and nurses performing countless tests to determine what was wrong with me. My skin had turned blue, and my eyes were swollen shut. After a couple hours my parents finally got to come in to the room to see me for the first time since 6:00 that morning. One of the head doctors showed my parents my CT scan which showed massive bleeding in my brain. They were informed that I had retinal hemorrhaging along with brain hemorrhaging, and that the next 24 hours would be very critical. For the next several hours, I would undergo many more tests, and a surgery to place a pressure monitor inside my brain. I was on a ventilator and placed into a medically induced coma to help prevent further damage to my brain. Because I was in the PICU, I had a team of doctors, and a 24 hour nurse at the end of my bed. In the morning one of the neurosurgeons in the hospital informed my parents that my diagnosis was a severe traumatic brain injury (T.B.I.). Weeks later when I was finally released from the hospital, I was blind (due to the eye hemorrhaging, caused from my brain smashing into the back of my eyes), and paralyzed on the left side of my body (When my brain smashed back and forth inside my skull, it caused massive bleeding which built pressure inside my brain. The pressure and the trauma from the rapid deceleration against my skull caused extensive damage to my brain.). I had lost everything that I had learned up until that day that I was admitted to the hospital. I had to relearn everything such as how to eat, how to drink from a bottle, how to hold my head up. I had even lost the simplest tasks like sucking on pacifier. I was basically a newborn again, just this time with very severe disabilities. The doctors even told my parents “Do not expect him to improve, he may never get any better.” My parents and I refused to give up on me. We decided to not believe that “it is, what it is.” So we began searching for the top specialists in our state. Since then I have been in physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, I have my own teacher, and I go to countless doctor’s appointments. I go to several hospitals across the state to see various doctors. I've seen multiple neurologists, and neurosurgeons along with multiple vision specialists. My pediatrician whom I've known since the day I was born still smiles every time I enter his office to show him the new things that I am doing. I've met and been seen by more doctors and nurses than I could count, and every one of them, along with all of my wonderful therapists, has done their part in helping me get better. When I left the hospital that first time the doctors told my parents not to expect me to get much better, however with the guidance of my parents, all my therapists, and doctors I continue to amaze everyone. My vision has mostly returned, even though I have to wear a patch and glasses now. I also have been working really hard to retrain myself how to use my left side.
Due to the extent of my injury my neurologist has told my parents and me that I will never be able to play sports or do anything other activity where I might fall down or take a hit to the head. I can’t partake in any activities which might include any rapid acceleration or deceleration to my brain. So this means no bounce houses, trampolines or roller coasters for me as I get older. Playing on a playground is a nightmare right now for my parents for fear that another child could crash into me. Any of these things could land me back in the hospital or worse. We won't know for many years how badly my cognitive ability was affected, or how much I will be able to recover, but neither my parents, nor myself will ever stop fighting to give me the best chance.
It is a shame, but due to lack of physical evidence the person who did this to me may never be brought to justice or prosecuted. Many children who receive an injury like mine are too young to be able to point a finger at the person who injured them. So without a confession, often times no one is ever found guilty, or prosecuted. Then the family of the child is left to bear the burden of one careless, heartless individual who was trusted with the care of such a precious innocent baby. Anyone and everyone who reads this, please like/share this page, and do everything in your power to protect, and prevent this type of injury from ever happening to another child.
So there is his story. Although very sad, it is one of inspiration and courage as well.
I can't imaging everything this family and Liam have been through. From what Greg and I have discussed, I personally know the medical bills are not cheap and continue to pile up daily, and I also know everything he and his wife both have done, continue to do daily, and sacrificed to help with Liam's recovery.
Greg is personally building a TJ Brute to be raffled off during the event that I have been following and take it from one Jeeper to another this thing is going to be a beast of a Jeep!
Again, I am posting this here within our wonderful community of Jeeper's with hopes it will help get the word out for the event, but also to shed some light and awareness of Liam's condition. Since finding out I have researched it quite a bit, and it happens to a lot more children than one would think and there is not enough awareness out there for it.
Below are the the links where you can find more information on this event, and what we as one big family of Jeepers can do to help
Prayers and Support for Baby Liam
Support for Liam
I am posting this event up here with hopes anyone in the area, or anyone that is able to travel can possibly attend. This is one event that the reasoning behind (especially if you have a younger child) makes you really sit down and think.
Support for Liam
Date 10/12/2013
Location Rocks and Valleys Off Road Park Harrison, MI
Quite a few of our sponsoring vendors here at JK-Forum are on board (Personal major THANK YOU to all!) and will be donating items for raffles and silent auctions throughout the day.
Just a quick summary of how I come to know about all of this.
Several months back, I was having a little problem with my ProCal and called AEV Tech Support where I was greeted by a great guy and now happy to call friend Greg Henderson. A lot of you here may already know him as he is an avid Jeeper just like the rest of us and is very involved with the Jeep community.
We resolved my ProCal concern, and then onto the subject of what else? Jeeps of course
After discussing Jeeps for awhile we touched on another subject which was our children. I was telling him about me being relatively new to the dad world with my 2 1/2 yr old, and how happy I was to be a parent not knowing the happiness a child would bring to my life. We started talking about his children, particularly his youngest infant son Liam, where instantly I could tell a change in his voice and how hard the words coming through the phone were to talk about. Liam had suffered a massive brain bleed at the age of 7 months. I could try telling Liam's story but I think he tells it best so I am doing a copy and paste directly from the Prayers and Support for Baby Liam's Facebook page. Please take the time to read whether you are a parent or not.
Baby Liam's Story:
Baby Liam.jpg
When I was 7 months old I arrived at the hospital in an ambulance at around noon, in mid December. I was in the emergency room with a flurry of activity; doctors and nurses performing countless tests to determine what was wrong with me. My skin had turned blue, and my eyes were swollen shut. After a couple hours my parents finally got to come in to the room to see me for the first time since 6:00 that morning. One of the head doctors showed my parents my CT scan which showed massive bleeding in my brain. They were informed that I had retinal hemorrhaging along with brain hemorrhaging, and that the next 24 hours would be very critical. For the next several hours, I would undergo many more tests, and a surgery to place a pressure monitor inside my brain. I was on a ventilator and placed into a medically induced coma to help prevent further damage to my brain. Because I was in the PICU, I had a team of doctors, and a 24 hour nurse at the end of my bed. In the morning one of the neurosurgeons in the hospital informed my parents that my diagnosis was a severe traumatic brain injury (T.B.I.). Weeks later when I was finally released from the hospital, I was blind (due to the eye hemorrhaging, caused from my brain smashing into the back of my eyes), and paralyzed on the left side of my body (When my brain smashed back and forth inside my skull, it caused massive bleeding which built pressure inside my brain. The pressure and the trauma from the rapid deceleration against my skull caused extensive damage to my brain.). I had lost everything that I had learned up until that day that I was admitted to the hospital. I had to relearn everything such as how to eat, how to drink from a bottle, how to hold my head up. I had even lost the simplest tasks like sucking on pacifier. I was basically a newborn again, just this time with very severe disabilities. The doctors even told my parents “Do not expect him to improve, he may never get any better.” My parents and I refused to give up on me. We decided to not believe that “it is, what it is.” So we began searching for the top specialists in our state. Since then I have been in physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, I have my own teacher, and I go to countless doctor’s appointments. I go to several hospitals across the state to see various doctors. I've seen multiple neurologists, and neurosurgeons along with multiple vision specialists. My pediatrician whom I've known since the day I was born still smiles every time I enter his office to show him the new things that I am doing. I've met and been seen by more doctors and nurses than I could count, and every one of them, along with all of my wonderful therapists, has done their part in helping me get better. When I left the hospital that first time the doctors told my parents not to expect me to get much better, however with the guidance of my parents, all my therapists, and doctors I continue to amaze everyone. My vision has mostly returned, even though I have to wear a patch and glasses now. I also have been working really hard to retrain myself how to use my left side.
Due to the extent of my injury my neurologist has told my parents and me that I will never be able to play sports or do anything other activity where I might fall down or take a hit to the head. I can’t partake in any activities which might include any rapid acceleration or deceleration to my brain. So this means no bounce houses, trampolines or roller coasters for me as I get older. Playing on a playground is a nightmare right now for my parents for fear that another child could crash into me. Any of these things could land me back in the hospital or worse. We won't know for many years how badly my cognitive ability was affected, or how much I will be able to recover, but neither my parents, nor myself will ever stop fighting to give me the best chance.
It is a shame, but due to lack of physical evidence the person who did this to me may never be brought to justice or prosecuted. Many children who receive an injury like mine are too young to be able to point a finger at the person who injured them. So without a confession, often times no one is ever found guilty, or prosecuted. Then the family of the child is left to bear the burden of one careless, heartless individual who was trusted with the care of such a precious innocent baby. Anyone and everyone who reads this, please like/share this page, and do everything in your power to protect, and prevent this type of injury from ever happening to another child.
So there is his story. Although very sad, it is one of inspiration and courage as well.
I can't imaging everything this family and Liam have been through. From what Greg and I have discussed, I personally know the medical bills are not cheap and continue to pile up daily, and I also know everything he and his wife both have done, continue to do daily, and sacrificed to help with Liam's recovery.
Greg is personally building a TJ Brute to be raffled off during the event that I have been following and take it from one Jeeper to another this thing is going to be a beast of a Jeep!
Again, I am posting this here within our wonderful community of Jeeper's with hopes it will help get the word out for the event, but also to shed some light and awareness of Liam's condition. Since finding out I have researched it quite a bit, and it happens to a lot more children than one would think and there is not enough awareness out there for it.
Below are the the links where you can find more information on this event, and what we as one big family of Jeepers can do to help
Prayers and Support for Baby Liam
Support for Liam
Last edited by deathboyardee; 08-08-2013 at 11:51 AM.
08-08-2013, 12:46 PM
#3
JK Super Freak
Thread Starter
It's the least I can do Greg!
You all are in my thoughts and prayers daily.
If there is anything I can do or help with on my end, I'm just a message or phone call away!
You all are in my thoughts and prayers daily.
If there is anything I can do or help with on my end, I'm just a message or phone call away!
Last edited by deathboyardee; 08-09-2013 at 07:42 AM.
09-19-2013, 03:20 PM
#4
JK Super Freak
Thread Starter
The date is closely approaching. Any members who can make it there and show some support please do. I cannot stress enough what a great cause this is! 
09-28-2013, 04:13 PM
#5
JK Super Freak
Thread Starter
Greg,
JK-Forum (Internet Brands) will be donating some hats and decals for this event!
You will be receiving them shortly and we hope it helps.
Liam, along with you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Steve
JK-Forum (Internet Brands) will be donating some hats and decals for this event!
You will be receiving them shortly and we hope it helps.
Liam, along with you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Steve