Award Nomination Applications

Admin Information

Admin Decision: Pending – Edit

Date of Decision:

Decision Comments:

Nominator Information

Justification:

Jonah is an outstanding son! This little boy has over 20 medical diagnosis, many of which are rare congenital defects and still undiscovered syndromes. Despite Jonah’s circumstances he is the epitome of joy. It’s hard not to fall in love with his charismatic personality.
Jonah’s medical complexities are rare enough that only two hospitals in the country can diagnose and treat his conditions, the closest being in Cincinnati, OH. Jonah also goes to PT, OT, SLP and FT weekly to help address his conditions.
If you were to see Jonah you would think he’s a typical kid. At almost four years of age Jonah is still unable to physically eat many foods, use the restroom, peddle or balance on a bike, safely support his head in a car seat, and the list keeps going. Jonah’s medical team feels as though he would greatly benefit from the core strength that’s only developed from riding a horse. Many of his peers from around the country have seen vast improvement in their symptoms and quality of life from weekly hippo therapy and we hopeful to see the same results for Jonah.
Jonah’s outward appearance has lead to many missed diagnosis these last few years and no financial help. As you may know, TN is the last state to pass a Katie Beckett waiver. I am one of the mother’s that spoke before the state Senate to help get this critical legislation passed, but it will still be another year before it’s implemented and very likely will not cover hippo therapy. Out of state travel, weekly therapy, and many other out of pocket medial expenses make the addition of hippo therapy financially impossible for our family to afford on our own. We are asking the Echo Foundation to please consider awarding Jonah this wonderful gift to help improve his quality of life. Thank you for your time and consideration. Katie Foster