Hi, this is my son
Israel Cornelius Ilagan. We call him Izzy. He will turn
6 years old in May
2019.
My name is Michelle and my husband’s name is Kris and we are the proud parents of our
one and only sweet and handsome little angel.
When Izzy turned 18
months old, we began to see changes in him and saw continuous regression. Izzy
stopped making eye contact and he started exhibiting abnormal behaviors.
Izzy lost interest in
learning, pretend play and interacting with us. I knew that something was wrong
but it took me months before I had the courage to seek help from a developmental
pediatrician. It was heartbreaking for a mother to see his only son drifting
off into his own isolated world.
At the tender age of
2years and 2 months (July 2015), he has been officially diagnosed within the Autism
Spectrum Disorder. It broke our hearts to hear “he has Autism”. I even
challenged the doctor that maybe the word “Autism” is just a label given to
kids with early behavioral challenges and that he will outgrow them. Our doctor
was very patient but firm in making me understand that it’s not the label that
is important but for Izzy to receive the interventions he needed to help him live
in our world that may not understand him nor he understands.
Our government currently
have limited resources to help disABLED kids like Izzy. As a mother that wants
the best for his son, we privately funded Izzy’s treatments even though costs are
high.
Izzy began receiving three
occupational therapy sessions at the age of 28 months. After a year of minimal
improvements, he was switched to ABA (Applied behavioral therapies) thrice a
week (3x) to manage his behaviors. He also receives one (1x) speech therapy
sessions in a week. He still continues these therapies today. We would still need to add more speech therapy sessions and occupational therapies.
As of today, Izzy is
non-verbal, struggles with potty training, eye contact, and comprehension. Izzy
cannot follow one step instructions and does not respond to his name. But
with all that being said, Izzy continuous to be our light, our angel and our
hope.
Izzy is what you see in
the photos and videos. He is a happy, energetic, loving and forgiving boy with a smile
that will steal your hearts.
Izzy loves music, he
loves playing the drums, taking photographs, swimming and jumping on trampolines
but he continuous to live in his own isolated world and is unaware of danger
and even of his own body.
As per his developmental
pediatrician, we have until he is 8 years old to know if he is within the Mild
to Severe Autism category.
Time is crucial at this stage.
Children less than 8 years old have brains that develops
really fast and having continuous therapies will ensure that he can develop
abilities to function in society.
We see little improvement in Izzy as the person caring for him when my husband and I are at work is not trained to handle special kids, though love and care were abundant.
It was when Izzy was having a meltdown that the person taking care of Izzy locked him in the bathroom just for her to gather her wits that I realized that my son needs his mother by his side. It can be a real challenge for anyone during meltdowns.
Izzy is not their responsibility, it was ours. It made all the pain real. This is the turning point that helped me decide to take this leap of faith.
As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. More so, a special one.
I write to you today to join me in helping him have the ability to function in society.
However, nothing had prepared us for the huge
financial resources we need to ensure he has continuous therapies, reinforcements and
treatments before he reaches 8 years old.
To add to our plight, an
unfortunate incident happened to me last July 2017 that would complicate our family’s
financial situation. I had a mild stroke and was diagnosed with a heart condition
(hole in the heart)—Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) and had left my work to help me
recover.
My current state of
health not only affects my ability to help my family with the financial
resources we need to support Izzy’s Autism therapies but also adds to the
surmounting medical bills and doctor’s checkups.
At this moment, we have exhausted our financial resources and we humbly ask you for whatever contributions you may be able to help Izzy with in order for us to continue his treatments and therapies.
We know we cannot make this journey alone. We need your HELP. It takes a village to raise up a child. More so a special one.
Your donations will contribute to Izzy’s therapies, reinforcements and treatments as well as for my stroke and heart related medical bills.
My husband and I are grateful for the time you spend reading Izzy’s story and we are beyond thankful to your donations made to "Izzy’s Autism Journey of HOPE".
P.S. Please click the Dropbox link to your right to access complete medical diagnosis, receipts, assessments and contact numbers of doctors and hospitals.
