Abram was a happy and healthy 3-year-old living with his parents and little sister in the small town of Harrison, Arkansas when tragedy struck. It was a moment that changed their lives, pushing Abram and his amazing family into a new reality filled with uncertainty and challenges they never could have anticipated.

“I walked into Abram’s room at midnight to find him seizing, unresponsive and barely breathing,” Abram’s mom, Allison Raglin recalls. “We rushed him to our local hospital before he was airlifted to a children’s hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas.”

It took a grueling ten days of Abram connected to a ventilator to figure out what was occurring to him. Abram had tested positive for RSV and rhinovirus while hospitalized, which allowed doctors to accurately diagnose him with a rare condition called Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, also known as HLH. This extremely rare immune disease causes certain white blood cells to build up in and damage organs, including bone marrow, liver, and spleen, and destroy other blood cells in the process.

Abram’s sister Addilyn snuggles with her brother in bed.

“Before this happened, Abram was so funny. He was completely potty-trained, he knew his colors, he could count to 30, he knew all the dinosaurs names as he was obsessed with dinosaurs,” Allison told us. “He was literally the funnest kid on earth.”

Unfortunately, when doctors took Abram off the ventilator his brain didn’t have a lot of activity which was caused by a lack of oxygen to his brain during the emergency. Today, Allison and her husband Justin will stop at nothing to get that bright, charismatic little boy back.

In the months since his brain injury, Abram has undergone a bunch of experimental therapies, like hyperbaric chamber therapy, in the hopes that he will begin to regain his cognitive and physical abilities. So far, his improvements have been slow but there’s still hope as Abram is so young and has proven to have a stronger will to live than most.

Abram’s parent really wanted to bring therapy into the home, as that is where he will spend the majority of his time. Insurance wouldn’t cover a standing frame for him, so that was first on their lists of requests to us. Thanks to our incredible donors and supporters, Holton’s Heroes was able to fully fund the purchase of a brand new Rifton stander to be used for years to come.

Pediatric brain injury survivors like Abram face numerous challenges in their daily lives, but one assistive device that can greatly enhance their well-being is a stander. A stander is a specialized device that allows individuals to assume an upright standing position, providing a wide range of benefits for children recovering from a brain injury. Firstly, using a stander can help improve muscle strength and tone by engaging the muscles in the legs, core, and upper body. This improved strength can lead to enhanced functional abilities and increased independence in activities of daily living. Secondly, standing in a stander promotes better bone density and joint health, minimizing the risk of developing osteoporosis or joint contractures.

In addition, the weight-bearing nature of standing can stimulate healthy growth and development, particularly in children whose brain injuries occurred at a young age. Standers also allows for better socialization and participation in social activities, as it brings the child to eye level with their peers, enhancing communication and interaction. Overall, the use of a stander is an invaluable tool for pediatric brain injury survivors, enabling them to lead more active, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

We are only able to continue to help kids recovering from brain injuries with your personal support. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift directly to our foundation today. You can donate safely here.

Make sure to visit us on Instagram to see more of our heroes and other fun updates!