Benefit for Bradley Ludwig

Young Bradley was born one year ago, to Nicole and Fran Ludwig, formerly of Port Allegany.  He was several weeks early, but appeared healthy.

Bradley has suffered from excessive vomiting, constipation and lack of weight gain.  Through many tests, he still has doctors baffled on his issues.  In May, Bradley had a Nissen Fundoplication surgery to stop the vomiting and help heal the esophagus. At the time of this surgery, he also had a G-Tube placed in his abdomen. Bradley is fed only through the tube due to aspiration. Bradley is currently in eating therapy to strengthen the esophagus so that he can eventually be fed through his mouth. Bradley also has a growth hormone deficiency and at a year old weighs around 13 pounds. He is given a growth hormone shot at home, daily. The growth hormone is not helping at this point. He is hypoglycemic and has to have his sugar checked several times a day. His sugar fluctuates all day and he struggles to stay within a normal range even an hour after being fed.

Some other diagnosis that Bradley has at this time include hypotonia in his upper extremities, failure to thrive, and a 145kb deletion in band 1q25.2 chromosome 1. He cannot sit for more than a minute without support and cannot bare weight on his legs. He will be getting tubes placed in his ears due to chronic ear infections. He takes several medications a day, most of which are not covered by insurance.

The Dr's in GA, where he currently lives, are stumped and he has been referred to CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). Unfortunately Bradley's parents cannot afford to just pick up and relocate to PA. Bradley has two older brothers and they are a one income family. We are holding this benefit to help with expenses while they are in the hospital.

A benefit is being held Sunday, January 11, at the Veterans' Memorial Home, Route 155 South, Port Allegany, from 11:00am - 5:00pm.  Those wanting to donate can contact Melissa Smoker, Carra Neal, or Carla Milliron.

For those that would like to financially support Bradley and his family, you can do so on the Go Fund Me page:  http://www.gofundme.com/iq36ik