Help Lathen After Surgery ❤️
💥💥💥 Please read the update. We have had some complications after surgery and are needing to make an emergency trip this Friday 9-11-26 to Austin for the ENT due to the complications. We are also still trying to raise funds for uncovered expenses for the trips September 15th 16th and 17th to Round Rock as well as the trip the second week of October for consultation with the otologist in regards to the hole in his left eardrum.
There is a section below that states all the information that's updated and what we're currently going through.
Donations can also be made through Cash app, Venmo, Zelle & Chime.
Right now our most important need is gas and food money for the trip on Friday 9-11.
Thank you so much in advance. We absolutely appreciate everyone who has shared the fundraiser who has donated and to has continued to pray for us and reach out and check on Lathen. We are so grateful to have such a group of amazing people supporting him.
My son, Lathen, is finally preparing for a long-awaited Upper lip reconstruction surgery & nostril repair (his previous nostril reconstruction ye
was botched), and we are asking for help with the unexpected travel and recovery expenses that are now falling on our family.
This surgery will address the two scars across his upper lip, the thinness and asymmetry of his lip, and the asymmetry of his nose and nostril area. More importantly, it is another step toward completing the larger reconstruction of his bilateral cleft palate & future jaw alignment surgery.
Lathen has already endured multiple surgeries and complications, and previous surgical experiences seriously affected his confidence. We've spent the last year searching for a craniofacial team we could trust led by a surgeon with higher standards, and we are incredibly grateful to have finally found one that sees Lathen as a person worthy of the opportunity to receive outstanding care and is committed to helping him complete his repair.
🏥 Our Immediate Need
Lathen's surgery is next week.We depart Tuesday morning for pre-op & report to the surgical department @ 5 am for a 7am start. He will remain in the hospital for 23-hour observation, but we live more than two hours away from his surgical team so it's 100% necessary to stay a minimum of 72 hours after release as returning home immediately after discharge is not a safe option due to several factors including our local hospital cannot provide the specialized care he may need if a complication occurs. The closest children's hospital's craniofacial team have NOT shown professionalism after his previously unsatisfactory left nostril reconstruction and unwillingness to listen to Lathen's unhappiness with his physical appearance and inability to also provide orthodontics.
Our Blue Cross Blue Shield case manager has approved our medical travel, but as of today we have not received final lodging details, out of pocket costs versus what is allowed to be reimbursed. Several upgrade requests had to be applied for and all the letter of medical necessity for those upgrades which include a room with a refrigerator, mobility accessible bathtub, high quality of cleanliness and access 24/7 in the lobby to liquids and soft foods to help combat any diabetic low or high emergency such as the ones we have experienced in previous surgeries. We do know that the lodging cost & meal expenses night of August 29 will not be covered & any gas expense between the day of arrival and the day of departure will not be reimbursed either.
We therefore need a backup plan for lodging and other expenses during our August 25–30 Austin trip.
Lathen will also be on a liquid diet for several days (up to 10 days of liquids and soft foods only) after surgery. Because he has diabetes and we have experienced repeated extreme lows following previous procedures, having immediate access to appropriate liquids and glucose sources is especially important.
We need help with:
Hotel deposits and uncovered lodging
Liquid meals and diabetic necessities
Gas and tolls
Parking at the hospital
Ice and supplies to safely transport his insulin
Emergency glucose/electrolyte drinks and other possible unexpected needs
Pajamas, socks, and house shoes that fit him to wear the morning of surgery before hospital admission
Hibiclens/chlorhexidine soap for his required pre-surgery shower
Normally I have been able to DoorDash during medical trips to help cover unexpected expenses. I will not be able to do that this time. Once Lathen is released, I cannot leave him unattended during his recovery.
🚗 This Is More Than One Trip
Unfortunately, the financial need will continue after his surgery.
August 25–30 — Austin:
Lip reconstruction and immediate recovery.
September 1–2 — Austin:
Post-op appointment and stitch removal at 8:30 a.m. September 2. Raylee must travel with us because she has a medical appointment halfway between home and Austin. To backtrack and bring her all the way back to town and then hit the road again would be a waste of time and gas being that we will already be halfway to Austin. Her travel, meals, and lodging will not be covered because she is not a Medicaid recipient or primary caregiver. Due to our need to have her with us it is not guaranteed for any of our travel gas or meals to be approved either. I may have no choice but to backtrack all the way home an hour from her appointment to drop her off and then make the 2-hour trip back out to Austin (which would physically & emotionally be too overstimulating for Lathen to travel. Due to his spine traveling more than a total of two to three hours a day in a sitting position in a vehicle is extremely painful for him).
September 15–18 — Round Rock:
Lathen's two-year neuropsychology follow-up and retesting, requiring approximately 230 miles of travel and two nights of lodging.
October 6–7 — Austin:
Otology follow-up regarding his recently diagnosed moderate hearing loss, confirmed eardrum perforation, and narrowing of his ear canals.
Each Austin trip is approximately 280 miles round trip.
Around October, Lathen is also expected to begin physical therapy in Dallas to prepare for spinal surgery in January for his Scheuermann's kyphosis and scoliosis. We have been blessed that Scottish Rite is the only facility in the state of Texas that offers the specific therapy needed that we will not have to continue to pay $90 per session out of pocket to attend.
💙 Why This Matters
These aren't optional trips. They are part of Lathen's ongoing medical care which all must be completed before his 18th birthday per Medicaid guidelines.
He has a chromosome 22q microduplication, complete bilateral cleft palate, ongoing reconstructive needs, hearing complications, a 77° curvature of the cervical spine with additional curvatures in the thoracic and lumbar spine and scoliosis, borderline intellectual disabilities alongside developmental and neuropsychological needs that require continued monitoring. He's immunocompromised as well.
The upcoming lip reconstruction is one more step toward the larger goal of completing his repair, including future orthodontic treatment, jaw surgery and bone grafting to close the remaining open fistulas in the roof of his mouth.
Lathen is understandably afraid because of what he has experienced in previous surgeries. My priority is making sure he feels safe, comfortable, and supported through this.
He isn't comfortable having his picture taken right now, so the photos included are ones he personally approved. They show the scars and asymmetry that his upcoming surgery is intended to address.
🙏 How You Can Help
Our financial situation will be severely strained because I will not be able to work while caring for Lathen during recovery or between trips. Hotel deposits, transportation, meals, parking, medical necessities, and upgrades requiring out of pocket expenses that may not be reimbursed by Medicaid are needed upfront.
Any donation, no matter the amount, will help. If you cannot donate, sharing this fundraiser or praying for Lathen means just as much to us.
Donations may also be made through Zelle, Chime, Venmo or sent through Walmart.
For anyone wishing to remain anonymous, I am currently working with my religious mentor to establish an option for anonymous donations which could be locally contributed or sent via mail to the church.
If you have questions about Lathen's medical journey, chromosome 22q microduplication, bilateral cleft palate, hearing loss, otology, or the importance of his ongoing neuropsychological testing, please feel free to reach out. I am always happy to educate others about what he has faced and why this care matters.
Thank you for every prayer, encouraging message, share, and donation.
We are incredibly grateful for everyone walking beside Lathen and our family through this journey.
God bless you all. ❤️🙏
I also uploaded an image of what Lathen looks like when he was born 3 months and 3 days early. I think this photo speaks for itself and through it you can see what a miracle he is and how far he has come and although he does not look like he did at birth he still has a very long way to go and many many more surgeries so every appointment that we have truly means something to the progress of him becoming whole and building confidence so that he can feel like the 14-year-old teenage boy he is and not the 14-year-old boy who has all these medical issues that interfere with him being just a normal kid. That's all he wants is to be a normal kid, accepted by the other kids and not made fun of or bullied. Every step we take is a step towards his freedom to Express who he truly is behind all his disabilities.
