Make a Microloan for 5-yr old Sam's Health!

This loan has been repaid in full!

...photos removed at family's request...

First Posted On: December 5, 2009

Name: Sam S.

Age: 5 years old

Location: California, USA

Diagnosis: Sensory Processing Disorder

Loan Sought: $400

Loan Needed For: One-hour follow-up appointment with DAN! doctor on January 19, 2010, to go over test results.

Repayment Terms: 12 months ($33.33/month)

Other Notes: Sam's mom, Angela, writes, "Sam was born 9 weeks premature due to a placental abruption and spent the first 7 weeks of his life in the NICU. He had 7 weeks of over-the-top sensory experiences when he should have been tightly embraced in darkness with only the sound of my voice and heartbeat (maybe my gurgling stomach!). On day 3, I watched 4 medicine pumps pushing powerful chemicals into Sam's tiny umbilical cord including one pump with DOPAMINE written huge and red. I pictured his tiny brain awash in all these meds and wondered what kind of long-term effect it was all going to have. Days after being released from the NICU and 2 weeks before his due date, I diligently took Sam to the pediatrician where he was given 4 combination vaccines without any regard to his immature immune system. He's had digestive problems and sensory integration issues from the very start. Since he steadily gains weight, the doctors shrug off an obvious digestive/allergy issue - chronic reflux, diarrhea, tummy aches, bloating, dark circles under his eyes and constant angry red rashes. He self-restricts his diet in fear of things hurting his stomach or making him "wacky-smacky."

Sam was diagnosed with SPD shortly before he turned 3 and is being treated by an amazing and life-changing occupational therapist. He's come a long way and is working on being able to handle a mainstream classroom next year, but I feel his digestive/allergy issues are the last hurdle to jump to get him feeling better.

Sam is such a curious and enthusiastic kid and it breaks my heart that he has gotten used to feeling bad all the time. We've had our initial appointment with our DAN! [Defeat Autism Now!] doctor and I am so relieved to have someone take these symptoms seriously and acknowledge the gut/brain connection with Sam's SPD. We've started basic supplements that have made a huge difference in his sensory over-responsivity. Now we need to figure out what is upsetting his very out-of-whack system. We are asking for a loan to cover the initial round of tests ordered by his DAN! doctor."

Note: Sam's dad received an unexpected work bonus, which the family is using to pay for the tests. On December 29, 2009, the family changed their loan request to help cover the follow-up appointment with the doctor to go over the results of the tests.

Special Note: Angie writes, "Anne Letaw referred me to Tori's GFCF Blog when she suggested a GFCF diet might help with my son's digestive AND sensory issues. I started following Tori's blog and read about her brilliant idea for Lend4Health when she first thought of it. I followed Lend4Health even before all the details were worked out. Did I mention it is brilliant?!?"

Reference Provided By: Jenn A.

Sam's Community of Lenders:

Abigail (Elisha & Ethan's mom): $5 [Cinco de Linco]
Renee: $5 ["Cinco de Linco"]
Grandma Gini: $5 ["Happy 5th Birthday Kaya on Cinco de Linco, December 5, 2009."]
Grandma Gini (again): $22 ["Celebrates Abigail Myers 4th birthday on Dec. 22, 2009"]
Dana C: $5 ["Merry Christmas!"]
Renee (again): $5 [Re-allocated from Izaiah's closed loan request.]
Grandma Gini (again): $15 [Re-allocated from Izaiah's closed loan request.]
Grandma Gini (again): $25 ["Merry Christmas Love to Tori & family"]
Grandma Gini (again): $38 ["Celebrates Kristina Smith's Dec. 6 birthday"]
Tiffany (Sevyn's mom): $7 ["Best wishes to you and your family Sam! We were helped through Lend4Health and our son is making great progress with his DAN! doctor! Autism is Treatable~Recovery is Happening!!"]
Grandma Gini (again): $30 ["Celebrates Happy lst birthday to Green Bay Packer fan Landen Myers Dec. 30, 2009."]
Karen F: $5 [Cinco de Linco]
Anonymous: $5 [Cinco de Linco]
Grandma Gini (again): $5 ["lst Cinco de Linco of 20l0! LIVE HEALTHY!"]
Alida (Alano's mom): $5 ["Happy New Year & Cinco de Linco Sam :-)! May God bless you on your way to recovery!"]
Petra: $10 [Cinco de Linco]
Jeanne: $5 [Happy Cinco de Linco]
Sean: $5
Joan: $25
Jeanne (again): $50 ["In honor of Nathan Warner, son of Angela and Dave, who has recovered from autism and no longer qualifies for special services!!! RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE!! OUR KIDS ARE GETTING BETTER!!"]
Christine & Shawn: $10
Grandma Gini (again): $18 ["In loving memory of Tori's grandma Marjorie, a true angel, on her birthday Jan. 8, 20l0"]
Grandma Gini (again): $95 ["Celebrates the Jan. l9, 2010, birthday of Tori's aunt, Patti Miller. Good luck with the test results!"]

UPDATES - UPDATES - UPDATES

January 9, 2010: This loan has been fully funded!

January 9, 2010: Promissory note sent to Angie for signature.

January 9, 2010: Signed promissory note received.

January 9, 2010: Loan of $400 disbursed to the family via check in the mail. This loan is scheduled to be repaid over 12 months, starting on March 15, 2010.

February 13, 2010: Thank you note from Sam's mom, Angie: "Thank you, thank you to all of Sam's lenders! Thanks to your loans, we were able to have our follow-up appointment with our DAN doctor. The most significant (and somewhat surprising) discovery was an IgG 3+ for soy. It instantly made complete sense with Sam's history and explained why months and months of journaling his food wasn't revealing an obvious offender for his rashes and tummy aches. Soy was in many of his supplements and most of his favorite foods. It's a tricky ingredient like that. We stopped soy immediately and within days, his rashes disappeared!! His stomach is noticeably less distended. Preschool accidentally gave him a soy containing snack this past week and his face instantly broke out and his little nose was red and swollen. Soy is so obviously the culprit now. I don't know how long it would have taken to figure it out without doing these tests. We also found out he has significant B-6 and B-12 deficiencies and confirmed a significant GI dysfunction. Sam also had a few heavy metal red flags that we need to do more comprehensive tests for. I've been immersed in information gathering and organizing our plan of attack. I am deeply grateful for your generosity that allowed us to finally get some solid answers and a definitive action plan to start healing Sam's body. Thank you with every fiber of my being!

Sincerely,
Sam's Mom"

March 9, 2010: 1st repayment of $33.33 received early (due March 15). An overpayment of $1.67 also was received, which will be applied to the final installment due.

April 13, 2010: 2nd repayment of $33.33 received early (due April 15).

May 14, 2010: 3rd repayment of $33.33 received early (due May 15).

June 16, 2010: 4th repayment of $33.33 received on-time (due June 15).

July 8, 2010: 5th repayment of $33.33 received early (due July 15).

August 7, 2010: 6th repayment of $33.33 received early (due August 15).

September 4, 2010: 7th repayment of $33.33 received early (due September 15).

October 10, 2010: 8th repayment of $33.33 received early (due October 15).

November 1, 2010: 9th repayment of $33.33 received early (due November 15).

November 12, 2010: 10th repayment of $33.33 received early (due December 15).

November 12, 2010: 11th repayment of $33.33 received early (due January 15).

November 12, 2010: 12th repayment of $31.70 received early (due February 15).

November 12, 2010: This loan has been repaid in full!