Vernon’s Gauge Serhan is facing more adversity on his road to recovery.
After being admitted to Vernon Jobilee Hospital (VJH) on Jan. 6, it’s been a rough road for Serhan. When him and his mom went down to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) for testing on Jan. 17, it was discovered he has Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
The seven-year old was put on vitamins and nutrients that worked for the past seven months but he’s recently started to experience a great amount of pain in his legs again and horrible headaches.
In his latest round of testing, it showed his infection rate is very high. Because of that, another test was concluded to find that the medication has stopped working and the side-effects are taking a toll on Serhan.
On Aug. 17, Serhan, along with his mom Ashley, and grandmother will be heading back to VGH to begin to switch his medication from oral to injection shots. After that, he will continue to receive the injection shots at home once every two weeks.
“My grandson Gauge has had a tough year,” said Maryann Serhan of the now eight-year-old.
Over the last seven months, Serhan has lost 30 per cent of the muscle mass in his legs (more than 15 pounds). Because of that, he is also starting to wear leg braces to help rebuild muscle.
Back when Serhan’s rough road started, his family set up a GoFundMe with the goal of $2,000 to raise money for medications and travel to Vancouver and back. Because of this latest set back, the goal is now $6,000.
The family has received 67 donations to date, totalling $2,725. To donate, click here.
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jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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