Meet our Mother of the Month, Mandi Tooker and her son Eric and his twin sister Paige. Here is The Tooker Story.
August 2014 was supposed to be a routine well check up for month old Paige and Eric. That appointment turned into a devastating blow, “Eric tested positive for Cystic Fibrosis on his newborn screen” the pediatrician said as he sat on the chair, trying not to show how upset he was for just laying such heavy news on us, a family he has known for 30 years. For over a year we went to many appointments with still no real true answer if he did have CF, but needed enzymes to even eat any food which is a big part of Cystic Fibrosis.(CF)
April 2017 we venture to Boston Children’s hospital (after our local specialists just could not help him) for a GI appointment. This doctor not only figured out what was wrong with Eric’s GI issues but also that he did in fact have CF and needed to be seen by pulmonary ASAP. August 2017, almost 3 years to the day the new pulmonologist says “Eric does have Cystic Fibrosis and we will be treating him with vitamins and increase enzymes to help him. Also we really want him to eat bacon!”
Eric has overcome many obstacles with his GI issues and his CF in general, once we got the right doctors and right medications he was able to exceed expectations and thrive for the first time in 3.5 years!
Eric is not only a boy with CF, he is also a boy who loves horses, his life revolves around them, and when he can spend some time at “his horse barn” with his best equestrian friend, Oakie, and muck stalls. He loves his family immensely, his toys, and of course movies and tv!
He is loved to infinity and beyond by so many!
