SUPPORTING TEIGAN

FUNDRAISING AND SUPPORTING A BEAUTIFUL CHILD

Over the last few weeks, you may have seen a variety of post regarding our fundraising efforts for our inspector Jacob's son. Teigan was born with Cystic Fibrosis.   Here is a clip from their GoFund Me page:  

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and the digestive system.  One of the side effects of CF is repeated lung infections that can be very dangerous to Teigan because of his age.  Over the last 18 months, Kristina and Jacob have been vigilant, taking every precaution to ensure that Teigan isn't exposed to sickness or germs.  This has meant that Teigan is not allowed to socialize with other children his age or participate in all of the kinds of activities that most children get to experience at this stage in their life.  Jacob and Kristina have to administer several medications and treatments to Teigan daily to try to ease his many symptoms which include a chronic cough, nasal congestion, wheezing, abdominal pain, and digestive issues. 

One of the treatments that Kristina and Jacob have to perform twice daily is Chest Physical Therapy or CPT.  CPT requires them to use their cupped hands to forcefully pound on Teigan's chest and back to break up the thickening mucus in his lungs. The mucus can clog his airways and trap bacteria leading to infections, extensive lung damage and eventually, respiratory failure.  This therapy takes a huge toll on Teigan, as it is painful and impossible for him to understand at 18 months old.  There is a better option, however. 

Vest therapy; or High-Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation. The "vest" is a machine with an air-pulse generator and an inflatable vest that wraps completely around the chest. The air pulse generator creates rapid bursts of air that make the vest inflate and deflate against the chest wall. The vibration of the vest against the chest wall helps to loosen mucus. The vest creates an airflow that helps to move mucus from the airway walls.  The machine would greatly improve Teigan's quality of life and decrease his susceptibility to lung infections, it would also take away the need for Kristina and Jacob to have to do the painful CPT treatments on him.  This machine, unfortunately, is not covered by the family's health insurance company despite the many pleas from his parents and the obvious benefits to Teigan.  Because of this, Teigan has now been hospitalized for an undetermined time because of a lung infection.  During his hospital stay, the vest has been used on Teigan with very positive results which proves, even more, why he needs it.  We would like to raise money for the family to be able to get the vest that Teigan so badly needs as well as help Jacob and Kristina with any residual medical costs.  Please help us help this family so that they can watch their son progress, improve his quality of life and repair the natural bond between Teigan and his parents that the CPT has damaged.  Thank you so much in advance, this is a very nice family with an adorable son and any help is greatly appreciated.

For updates on Teigan check out his Facebook page here

Lisa began a campaign to raise funds to help purchase this vest.  It began with a GoFund Me page, as seen above. Then, a garage sale from items donated from our staff.  And finally, a joint fundraising effort with Dutch Brothers. The support and collaboration within our office for this fundraiser has been inspiring.  Judging by the GoFund Me page and participation with Dutch Brothers, it seems that baby Teigan has a wealth of community support also.  

Here are the results of our fundraising thus far:

GoFund Me https://www.gofundme.com/duwn8cwk 

4,215 of $10k

Garage Sale  $1300 dollars

Dutch Bros  $1200 dollars

Bringing our grand total to  $6715

The vest costs just under $16,000.  We are well on our way to making this goal a reality.  Thanks to our team and Silverton community for the support and funds you are investing into Teigan's future and well-being.