Kreed Vercelli has a smile that can light up a room and melt your heart. Like most boys his age, Kreed loves rock music, pizza, Five Guys and spending time outdoors hiking. He is funny, smart and has a loving family to support him.
Sadly, Kreed is not your typical 17 year old boy. He has Autism and must communicate with a Dynavox language device.
At 4 months old his medical problems started and by the time Kreed was 11, he was diagnosed with epilepsy, hypothyroidism, SCHAD, and CVID. During his early years, Kreed was constantly in and out of the hospital.
Fortunately he had some years of stability and through therapy plus use of the Dynavox his parents have been able to determine exactly what he knows and how he’s feeling. Sadly that stability has not lasted. Over the past 18 months several new medical conditions have surfaced simultaneously and have changed his life from one of basic wellness and joy to one of complete sickness and medical fragility. Kreed was diagnosed with POTS/Dysautonomia, Peripheral Neuropathy, sleep apnea, adrenal insufficiency, and hyperinsulinism. In that short 18 month period, Kreed went from super active and vibrant to lying on the ground 24/7 or wheelchair bound, until his family moved to Flagstaff from Phoenix. The higher altitude and the cooler temperatures saved his mobility and relieved many of his debilitating symptoms, except the hyperinsulinism.
Currently Kreed’s hyperinsulinism is raging out of control and is threatening his life. Kreed's blood sugar drops all day, every day, without warning. Diet has made no difference as his body simply makes too much insulin. His parents never know when these drops will occur although they are incredibly vigilant. During the day, Kreed’s sugar levels are read every 90 minutes and he is fed every 90 minutes to two hours to keep his sugars stable. Overnight his parents check his blood sugar every hour and if it is too low, Kreed must eat. So his parents set an alarm and check every 60-90 minutes, otherwise Kreed wakes up with dangerously low blood sugar.
There are a few simple things his parents can do to help Kreed but they are not covered under insurance. The most important thing is to get Kreed a continuous glucose monitor, but his insurance is currently unwilling to provide this life saving device. His parents have tried every way they can think of to get the monitor with no success. They even started their own fundraiser, but it has stalled well below what they need to purchase this life changing machine. The continuous glucose monitor would give a blood sugar reading every few minutes allowing greater control. Without this monitor he is at risk for low blood sugar seizures, so parents feel like are literally in a fight for his life.
Enter the Ride to Give Army. Please help us raise the funds to get Kreed a continuous glucose monitor and 6 months of necessary testing supplies plus an adjustable bed to better position him so his blood will flow more freely through his body over night.
Kreed's doctors think many of his disorders, including his hyperinsulinism, are related to an as yet undiagnosed mitochondrial disorder and at this point don't know exactly how to help him. Sadly many have given up on finding answers. Let’s show Kreed and his parents that Ride to Give will support them along their journey to improve and save this courageous young man's life.
To hear Kreed's own voice and follow his journey, visit his facebook page at www.facebook.com/kreedsworld or his youtube at www.youtube.com/kreedsvideos or his blog at www.kreedsworld.blogspot.com.
