Carter's Coalition

In the time it took Carter to get a good nights sleep on July 30th his body began attacking itself. On 7/31 at 8 am Carter was in a ball on the floor next to his bed. He was unable to stand on his own and was saying "Help me, Help me". As soon as we went to the ER the doctor thought he had meningitis and a possible stroke. Carter was admitted to the PICU at CJW. Within 12 hours of his ER visit Carter fell unresponsive and was intubated. Forty-eight hours later Carter was paralyzed from the nose down. His stay in the PICU to uncover a diagnosis was complicated by pulmonary distress and involved three back-to-back days in the operating room. After 7 days doctors believe Carter had Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM). High-dose sterois and IVIG helped minimally, the left side of his face came back to life and he could wiggle his right toes. Near the end of August though it became clear no other motor function or reflexes were returning. Carter was transferred 2 weeks ago to VCU for additional treatment and care. Carter now has a confirmed diagnosis (three docs at three different facilities) of Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM). Carter then spent 110 days in intensive in patient rehab. 9 months later Carter remain 100% dependent on a ventilator and others for all of his care and needs as a quadriplegic. The diagnosis is very rare and its spectrum of damage and recovery are vast. This page will serve to create awareness for Carter's condition as well as share information regarding Carter's progress and ways that everyone can get involved and assist. Donate at
https://www.gofundme.com/6m6ate77 ALL funds go to Carter's Irrevocable trust so they may be used only for his direct care, equipment and expenses related to him.