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Mike Taylor 
My name is Teri Taylor. Our fourteen year old son, Mike, was born with Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (IL), which is an incurable life-threatening illness. Mike is treated by going to the hospital every three weeks to receive infusions of albumin and calcium. He has had seven surgeries and over 200 infusions! Mike will need these infusions, or what he calls "tune ups", for the rest of his life in order to stay alive! IL is so rare, that we have only found 14 patients, like Mike, in the world! Children's Hospital Central California has helped us to set up this web site. We are seeking doctors who have treated IL or patients with IL in order to find new treatment options or even a cure!
Mike has a wonderful positive attitude and he tries to live a normal life, even though he spends 30 days a year at the hospital. He is a ninth grader who loves to play soccer and is helping to raise money for our local Children's Hospital.
We are asking everyone to sign our guestbook and to pass Mike's Story along to everyone in your address book. (Even though you may not know of someone with IL, you could be the link that leads us to our goal!) Mike is our borrowed angel and we would like to keep him for a long time. Wouldn't it be great, if together, we find a cure for Mike!
Our heartfelt thanks to each of you who are helping us in this way. We appreciate all of the prayers and kind words of encouragement. We are so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends! Best Wishes, Teri, Ken, Joe, Brian, Steve and Mike
Iron Mike Song
Journal
Monday, May 11, 2009 4:32 PM CDT Hi Everyone,
I took Mike in for his "tune up" over the weekend. He is doing well. The doctor wants Mike to come in more frequently for his treatments, every 2 weeks instead of every 3. They have also increased the amount of albumin he is receiving by 50%. Even though he is coming in more frequently and receiving more albumin, his labs are still low. The levels that Mike maintains are almost the same even with the extra help.
Mike continues to have a wonderful attitude! He said that he is sure that this will help him to feel better. Maybe his numbers will go up over time. I am praying for that!
The boys gave me a wonderful Mother's Day. It was 80 and sunny and we all just enjoyed being together!
I will be a SURVIVOR for the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" this Saturday. Looking forward to doing my lap with the others.
Have a great week and thanks for checking in on Mike!
Best wishes,
Teri, Ken, Joe, Brian, Steve and Iron Mike
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: Patient Room: Craycroft Children's Hospital Central California 9300 Valley Children's Place Madera, CA. 93638-8762 (559) 353-3000
Links: http://www.valleychildrens.org/giving2.asp?ID=252 click on Iron Mike under patient stories for ABC video http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/allaboutlymphangiectasia/links Contact/Information IL http://www.littleleakers.com IL Support Group
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