Meet Joshua ~ Extended Hospital Stay Grant Recipient

Joshua, age 11, was not diagnosed with cystic fibrosis until the age of 10.  Occasionally, patients present with all the symptoms but the underlying cause is over looked.  Thank Goodness this family found a doctor who decided to look a little deeper and try to find the cause of his recurring infections and failure to thrive.A diagnosis such as this can be at first comforting to know that the disease causing negative and recurring issues has a name and a specific treatment plan but at the same time, it can be devastating to learn that cystic fibrosis is incurable and often times fatal.Joshua experienced his first 2 extended hospital stays due to cystic fibrosis in the last few months.  This upheaval in a family can be expensive and stressful to say the least.  The social worker at their new CF Center referred them to us as potential candidates for an Extended Hospital Stay Grant and we were grateful to be able to offer them much needed assistance in catching up on missed payments and expenses incurred while caring for Joshua.The family is home together again, learning as much as they can about raising a child with cystic fibrosis and the daily regimen involved.  Our hearts are with you and if you need anyone to help you navigate the path, please reach out to us about our Support Families Network."Claire's Place has helped our family climb out from debt that had accumulated from loss of pay due to a long hospitalization for our son. We were already living paycheck to paycheck so any loss of pay has a huge detrimental effect on our family. We are still playing catch up with all the medical expenses too, seems like an impossible feat.  We cannot thank you enough for the help!"  ~ Joshua's Parents*This grant was made possible by our friend Riki Rachtman and his famous #RikisRide17.  He is raising money for Claire's Place Foundation by riding his motorcycle across 48 states beginning June 1, 2017.  Be sure to visit his fundraising page today and find out more about this exciting event.  Thank you to Riki and all the people who are supporting his efforts!  YOU are making a real difference in this child's life. (Rikis Ride 17 is sponsored in part by DeathWish Coffee)