Buy BBQ Dinners To Help Cover Medical Expenses Of 9-Month Old With Dwarfism
by James Coulter
A local 9-month old child with dwarfism needs help covering his travels out-of-state for an important medical exam, and you can help him cover them by purchasing barbecue dinners at an upcoming fundraiser.
From now until Oct. 20, tickets can be purchased for barbecue dinners that will be distributed at Up at the Cross Church, located at 318 S. Scenic Highway in Lake Wales across from Bullard Avenue. Dinners can be purchased for $10 and will include a smoked pulled pork sandwich with “all the fixings” like potato salad, baked beans, and a dinner roll.
All proceeds will go directly toward the family of Beau, a 9-month-old who has been diagnosed with dwarfism, who will be visiting a hospital in Delaware in December to undergo medical testing for his condition.
Little Beau was born on Dec. 31, 2018 to Lake Wales resident Mandi Mitchell. Midway through her pregnancy, Mitchell discovered that her baby was small for what he should have been, she explained.
Upon visiting a high-risk doctor, Mitchell discovered that her son would be born with a form of skeletal displasia. After he was born, Beau underwent further testing, which revealed that he had a form of dwarfism, a condition that affects bone growth and results in shortness in height.
Currently, his condition is skeletal and not developmental, so while Beau will grow to be short for his age, his mental and developmental abilities should not be greatly affected, she said. Even then, many surgeries will be required in the near future.
From December 19 to 20, Beau and his family will be traveling to a research hospital in Delaware to undergo further extensive testing, which will require many expenses to be paid on the part of his family, Mitchell said.
Most of their expenses for past treatments and tests have already been covered by their insurance. As Mitchell works for United Way of Central Florida, her employer has been more than lenient to help work around her appointments, she said.
“Fortunately, everything that we had to do so far here has been covered by his insurance, but because we are going out of state, insurance is through the state and will not cover his trip to Delaware,” she said.
Mitchell has been purchasing and selling dwarfism awareness bracelets to help cover some of the costs for their trip, but even that will not be enough. So she and her family will be hosting a barbecue fundraiser in the parking lot of a Lake Wales church to help cover the remainder of their expenses.
Aside from her newborn, Beau, Mitchell and her husband have eight other children. Her two high school-aged sons are currently playing baseball. Her husband, Steven, coaches high school baseball as well.
Mitchell has high hopes that her local community will show support for her son and their family. She loves her local community, and she knows that they love her.
“We have a good family, a good support system, and we are thankful for that,” she said.
Little Beau’s Drive-Through Dinner Fundraiser will be hosted on Oct. 26 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Christ Cross Church, located at 318 S. Scenic Highway, Lake Wales, FL 33853. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased until Oct. 20. For more information, call 863-605-7459, or e-mail [email protected]
