Mr. B - Sweetest Boy Ever

Look at that smile! That's my husband, Michael, with our nephew Brycen. This is a blog we created to help his mother, Erin, and grandmother, Laura, raise money and awareness for Brycen's needs and condition. These two ladies have been working hard for 3 1/2 years to give Brycen the best possible care.

Yesterday, Kelley and I wrote a press release to try and generate some attention (and hopefully donations) to purchase a piece of medical equipment that all of his family believe will help control Brycen's seizures and improve his quality of life. It's a start! We think it will be published in the Transylvania Times (our local paper) in the coming weeks, and we're trying for the Citizen-Times and others.

Here's the press release:

Brycen Ashworth has been a fighter since birth. Born March 22, 2005, he seemed to be a normal, healthy baby. Approximately six weeks later, he began having seizures and was rushed to the hospital. After extensive testing, a neurologist delivered some devastating news. The Ashworths were told that Brycen suffered from a rare neurological condition called Lissencephaly. He would probably never sit up, walk, or talk, and would need to be on anti-seizure medication for the rest of his short life span. His mother, Erin Ashworth, and grandmother, Laura Ashworth, are reaching out to the community in hopes of finding help to get Brycen the treatment he needs.

Also known as “smooth brain”, Lissencephaly is characterized by the lack of normal valleys and folds in the brain. Treatment for the condition varies and is based on the symptoms of the individual patient. In January of 2006 Brycen had a feeding tube put in due to 75% aspiration. Several months after that he was hospitalized again to begin the ketogenic diet in an attempt to control his seizures. Now 3½, Brycen has seen 4 different neurologists and endured a never-ending regime of hospitalizations and medications in an attempt to control his seizures.

Most recently, he was diagnosed with a lower respiratory infection and spent several weeks in the hospital due to a low oxygen level. From the time Brycen received oxygen in the hospital until shortly after he was released, he had no visible seizures and there was no change in his seizure medication. According to Laura Ashworth, Brycen’s grandmother, “This improvement with oxygen was observed by all, and we wondered at that time if possibly the oxygen he received had helped control his seizures. We had previously inquired about hyperbaric oxygen therapy from a particular center but received no response from them. Brycen’s most recent hospitalization has sparked our curiosity once again about hyperbaric oxygen therapy. We strongly believe there may be a possibility that this type of therapy may benefit him.”

They have been looking for hyperbaric oxygen treatment here locally, but to no avail. Due to Brycen's very rigid feeding and medication schedule it is very difficult to transport him. Therefore, his best option to help control his seizures is to purchase a hyperbaric oxygen chamber that could be placed in their home, which will allow him to receive regular treatments without interuption of his feeding and medication schedule.

Now, Brycen's family and friends are working to raise the funds necessary to purchase a hyperbaric oxygen chamber so that Brycen can benefit from oxygen whenever he needs it. There is currently no support to help them purchase this equipment, which costs around $18,000.

Family and friends are asking individuals in the community to give whatever they can for this special little boy. They can go to http://www.paypal.com/, click on send money, and then enter kelleycorwin@yahoo.com, or they can write a check to The Brycen Ashworth Fund and send it to ATTN: Kelley Corwin, 12 Larchmont Road, Asheville, NC 28804, or individuals can go into any Carolina First Bank and ask to donate to The Brycen Ashworth Fund. For more information, call Erin Ashworth at 828-337-9424 or Kelley Corwin at 828-713-3764.