Easton's Story

Easton is the 8-year-old son of Brian & Heather Blanchard and the older brother of Gracee Blanchard. He is the grandson ofRoyce and Linda Blanchard and Julie Adams all of Leesburg and Stan and Wanda Adams of Sylvester. He attends the 3rd grade at Twin Oaks Elementary in Lee County. He has two very special teachers, Mrs. Turoski and Ms. Butler.

Born July 02, 1999, Easton was diagnosed with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. He had numerous struggles and hurdles to overcome. He is so strong and has made it a personal goal of his to see that he does his best to overcome anything he is faced with. Because of Easton and goals he sets for himself, it is easier for the rest of his family and friends to make goals and overcome all hurdles and struggles they are faced with also.

January 23, 2007, Easton was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Macon, Georgia with abdominal pain. At first, he was being treated for constipation. His condition deteriorated and on January 25, 2007 he developed a mid gut vovulus. Since then he has had 4 surgeries. The last surgery was on February 03, 2007. As a result of the vovulus he only has 4 inches of small intestine left. He now has both an ileostomy and jejunostomy. Due to the loss of small intestine he has required a permanent IV catheter be placed in his chest for long term IV nutrition.

On November 5, 2007, he started a week long journey in Pennsylvania at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. During his stay, he met with a team of experts. This team consists of specialists in clinical nutrition, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, nursing, radiology, pediatric surgery and transplant surgery. This approach enables Intestinal Care Center (ICC) to evaluate and assess needs for each individual. We proved our case and showed that Easton deserves to have a second chance at life. HE MADE THE NATIONAL LIST.

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