Make a Microloan for 7-yr old Charlie's Health!

This loan has been paid back in full!

First Posted On: February 4, 2009

Name: Charlie

Age: 7 years old

Diagnosis: Autism

Loan Sought: $1,200 [this was the original amount; a gift from Charlie's grandpa made outside of Lend4Health brought the final loan amount down to $961.50]

Loan Needed For: Three tests: Comprehensive Stool Analysis (CSA), Individualized Optimal Nutrition Panel (ION), and Urine Porphyrin Panel (UPP).

Repayment Terms: 6 months ($200/month originally; $160.25/month final)

Special Note: This is the 2nd Lend4Health loan for Charlie. The first was HERE. The first loan was repaid on-time (early, in fact), so they are eligible to request another loan.

Other Notes: Charlie's mom, Jeanne, writes, "Charlie has been battling multiple medical problems for years. At the age of four he was diagnosed with autism. We immediately started biomedical interventions and continue to do so to this day. Last summer we were able to get Charlie in to see Dr. Arthur Krigsman at Thoughtful House and have seen incredible gains. Now that Charlie's GI (gastrointestinal) issues are more stabilized, our DAN! doc (Dr. Georgia Davis) would like to repeat some testing (ION, CSA, UPP). The tests total $1,200. Due to our current economic deficiencies, we are unable to come up with such a large chunk of money in such a short period of time; however, we can come up with the monthly payment to pay off a loan over six months through Lend4Health. If we are lucky enough to get a tax return check, we will apply the entire amount to our loan in order to pay the balance before the end of the six month plan. As previous L4H loan recipients, we know what a valuable tool these micro loans are to the many families in our community! Thank you lenders for your generosity and willingness to help us help our son! And thank YOU Tori for providing us with this awesome opportunity!" [Note from Tori: You can find more about Charlie and his family's journey at Jeanne's blog, Charlie in Wonderland.]

Reference Provided By: No new reference needed; references were provided during first loan process.

Charlie's Community of Lenders:

Petra: $10 [Cinco de Linco loan - a few early )]
Anonymous: $50
Tori: $10
Jan: $200
Karen: $20
Anonymous #2: $10
Gerald: $25
Danielle (Kosta's mom): $20
Michelle: $20
Julie: $100 ["Feel better Charlie. Love, Sophie"]
Honey: $100 ["Jeanne sending you much love and will be keeping you in my thoughts. Charlie is beautiful! xo Honey"]
Cathleen: $50
Patti: $2.50
Petra (again): $9 [re-loaned from Carson's repaid loan. Feel better soon, Charlie!]
Salamander: $15 [This loan is made by Salamander, who is very worried about Charlie. He hopes that C can go home soon, to play tricks on his mom with his robots.]
Gary: $100
Rachel (Julian's mom): $20
Jan (again): $200

Charlie's grandpa has made a gift to the family (not a loan) of the remaining $238.50! Charlie's loan is, therefore, now funded!

UPDATES - UPDATES - UPDATES

February 9, 2009: Charlie's loan has been funded!

February 9, 2009: Promissory note sent to Jeanne for signature.

February 9, 2009: Signed promissory note received.

February 9, 2009: Loan of $961.50 sent via PayPal.

February 10, 2009: Note from Jeanne:

Hello!

Thank you so much for chipping-in on Charlie's loan for much needed testing, which because of all of you I was able to start today. Imagine our joy when, upon returning from spending the weekend in the hospital with Charlie, we got the news our loan was fully funded and in the process of being dispersed to us that very day.

Words cannot express the gratitude we feel towards you for your generosity and willingness to help. We were shocked and thrilled at how quickly the loan was fulfilled. I will keep you posted as to Charlie's progress. And again, thank you all for your help!

Michael, Jeanne, and Charlie

March 6, 2009: First loan repayment installment of $160.25 received, 9 days early.

March 6, 2009: Second loan repayment installment of $160.25 received, 1 month early.

March 6, 2009: Third loan repayment installment of $160.25 received, 2 months early.

April 22, 2009: Fourth loan repayment installment of $160.25 received, 2 months early.

April 22, 2009: Fifth loan repayment installment of $160.25 received, 3 months early.

April 22, 2009: Sixth loan repayment installment of $160.25 received, 4 months early.

April 23, 2009: This loan has been fully repaid. This family is considered to be in good standing on Lend4Health and is, therefore, welcome to submit another loan request in the future, if they would like.

April 23, 2009: The original loan amounts have been sent back to the lenders via PayPal.

April 27, 2009: Update from Charlie's mom, Jeanne:

Hello Lenders!

First let me thank you for your generosity! Through your contributions to our Lend4Health loan I was able to complete some much needed testing for Charlie. The results of those tests have enabled us to adjust certain supplements, add in some new ones, and take away a few (yippeee!).

Charlie continues to improve in his speech and cognitive abilities. His social skills have turned a corner as well. Thanks to these great improvements, Charlie was invited to his first (classmate) birthday party. You see, for the past year and a half (kindergarten and 3/4 of first grade), he was the only kid excluded from parties. He would come home crying because the other kids would tell him how much fun they had at a party.

So when the invitation came in the mail he was so excited. He spent the week prior to the party playacting with his stuffed animals. He practiced yelling "Happy Bday," and made sure to thank his stuffed Asimo robot for inviting him to the party. It was adorable. When the time came to take a trip to Toys-R-Us so he could pick out a present, he knew exactly what to get because he now talks to his classmates and knows what they like to play with - it's just incredible!

Best of all, we've seen a complete turn around with some major sensory problems Charlie has been struggling with for years - the main one being his inability to handle the sound of crying (most specifically from a baby or child). To test his new tolerance, we took him to a restaurant last weekend for the first time in over a year. Sure enough, there were several crying babies and children. Charlie never reacted. He sat calmly and enjoyed his experience. He ordered for himself and charmed the waitress.

It has been a long and difficult 4 years for Charlie; however, his journey has proven to me that autism is indeed treatable and children can recover with the proper treatments. As a matter of fact, I feel confident that my son will lose his autism diagnosis this year. He tells me every day that it won't be long before he is no longer "in autism." That's how he views it - something he is in, but will soon come out of. He recognizes he feels better and conversely, can verbalize clearly when he is not feeling good. A much improved situation than the years of silent suffering, that's for sure!

Thanks again to all of you for enabling us to properly test and treat Charlie.

I hope you will all continue to contribute micro loans to the children and families on Lend4Health. You really can make a direct difference in a child's life, just look what you did for my son!

With deep appreciation,
Jeanne
Charlie's Mom
charlieinwonderland.com