Sydney Hoeger Benefit

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010 BEGINNING AT 4:00 P.M.

CARPENTER’S HALL, CHARITON IA

ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: CHILDREN’S GAMES, MEAL, LIVE AND SILENT AUCTIONS, BAKE SALE, MUSIC AND MORE!

On June 26, while enjoying a warm summer afternoon at the pool, Sydney Hoeger, 8 year old daughter of Gary and Gloria, little sister to Nate and Lucas, fell from the ladder leading to the high diving board and landed on the concrete nine feet below. Sydney suffered contusions and abrasions across much of the left side of her body, but more seriously, a fractured skull and multiple bleeds on her brain in both the temporal and the frontal lobes. She spent four days in Pediatric Intensive Care at Blank Children’s Hospital before being moved to the general pediatric floor for an additional four days.

An MRI completed five days after the fall revealed a more significant injury than originally understood. At that point her brain injury was termed a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), falling between the mild and moderate ranges. Speech pathology, occupational therapy and physical therapy then became an active part of her inpatient stay to begin uncovering the depths of the affected areas.

A TBI affects many functions of the brain from cognitive, to emotional, to behavioral. The cognitive difficulties Sydney has encountered include word finding (to look at an object and know what that object is or to even be able to form a sentence), categorizing information (naming ten items in a category such as fruits or colors), problem solving, critical thinking, recognizing people, confusion, etc. Along with the cognitive issues, the areas affected are responsible for emotion and the control of emotion (laughter or tears that start and won’t stop), impulsivity (knowing not to run in front of a car), and difficulty following a conversation or set of instructions. The time it takes for her to process incoming information is much longer. Her physical symptoms have included headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and non-epileptic seizures.

She was hospitalized again in early August for five days when the seizures began. On one hand we were relieved to find out her seizures were non-epileptic in nature which means there is not a misfiring in the brain. On the other hand, this has made it more difficult to medicate and prevent the seizures. As of this writing, we are gaining ground and are closer to figuring out what medications will help us prevent them.

Sydney’s recovery period is anticipated to be around 2 years. During this time, she requires full time care as she is only able to attend school for 30 – 60 minutes 3 to 4 days each week. All of her doctor’s have indicated that research shows pushing an injured brain too soon can cause setbacks for years to come. Gloria has resigned her account executive position at Midwest Heritage Bank to stay home with Sydney. Gary, too, has missed many days of work to be by his daughter’s side while hospitalized and to attend several of her doctor visits and therapies. Sydney’s care requires weekly trips to Blank and various locations around Des Moines for all of her appointments.

Details about Sydney’s current status can be found by visiting www.carepages.com , after creating your own login, visit sydfrogpage (all one word).

The youth group has been asked to donate their time in helping with the children’s games and set up and clean up for the dinner.  The High School student will gain silver cord hours for their service.  Sign up sheets are in the back of the church.

Also, Sacred Heart has been asked to donate cookies, and bars for the dessert at the dinner and cupcakes for the cakewalk. You may sign up for this in the back of church.

The committee would appreciate any and all donations including but not limited to:

•      Cash
•      Items for silent auction
•      Items for live auction

Donations can be dropped off at Midwest Heritage Bank in care of Denise Storm.

If you have any questions please contact:   

Denise Storm (641) 203-1930
Amiee Smith (641) 203-1268
Cindy Laing (641) 203-1031