Local family's foundation helps medically fragile children

May 20--Since the death of 6-year-old Joseph Thomas in 2007, his parents have made it their mission to help other families with medically fragile children get the care and medical supplies they need.

"Joseph had a lot of medical problems and during the course of his life we learned about some of the gaps that Medicaid and insurance have with medically fragile children," his father, John Thomas, said. "So after he passed away, we wanted to continue to remember him."

"Joseph was one of those children who wasn't supposed to make it," Thomas said, adding they believe every life is a life and everybody has a purpose.

Defying expectations, Joseph lived six years and even attended a day of school, according to his father.

"All of the things they said he would never do, he did," Thomas said. "We were very fortunate."

When Thomas and his wife, who are raising five children, moved to Weatherford nearly two years ago to be closer to Cook Children's Hospital, they expanded the service area (a 100 mile radius around San Angelo and around Abilene) to include Weatherford and other areas of Parker County.

"The typical person just automatically assumes that Medicaid or insurance or the SSI or the government, oh, those people are taken care of," Thomas said. "Well, yes, to a certain extent they are. But there are so many gaps in the system and it's only getting worse. That's what we do is try to help those families get those things that their children need."

The foundation helps with a variety of issues.

"One thing that we have done several times is wheelchair or scooter lifts for vehicles," Thomas said. "Medicaid will typically help buy a wheelchair or scooter or something along those lines. But they won't help with a lift. So they don't help with how to get it anywhere, which is kind of frustrating because the whole point of that is to make you mobile and to allow you more freedom. But if you can't take it anywhere, it doesn't really accomplish that."

"Another example is, well, we had a child that needed a prosthetic eye," Thomas said. "Medicaid determined that it was a cosmetic procedure and they would not pay for it."

"That strikes me as something that a child needs for normalcy and to be a part of the community and for self-worth and things along that line," Thomas said.

"Typically Medicaid will not pay for equine therapy ... which is proven to be very beneficial, especially for children with autism."

Thomas said they've received a number of applications from families seeking cranial helmets for their children.

They can help prevent hearing loss or eyesight loss but aren't typically covered, according Thomas.

"Those helmets are $1,800 a piece," Thomas said. "That's the thing with all of these types of items. If you are raising a medically fragile child you simply don't have that money."

Thomas said his own family has experienced the financial strain on families who have children with significant ongoing medical needs.

"There were many times when we didn't know how we were going to put gas in the car to get our children to doctors appointments in Fort Worth at Cooks," Thomas said. "And if it wasn't for the church and if it wasn't for friends of the family, I honestly don't know how we would have done it."

Thomas said they've received applications from families who had similar needs for gas to get to appointments.

Thomas said they only serve children in their designated service area.

Families must also provide information from a doctor and show that they've attempted to obtain what they need from elsewhere.

Because of their limited funds, they try to be the last option for families, Thomas said.

After obtaining a completed application and any other required information, the foundation's board members -- three in Abilene, three in San Angelo and Thomas, his wife, and Kerry Patton in Weatherford -- vote on the request immediately, Thomas said.

"We don't give out cash," Thomas said. "We only buy whatever supply or service that child needs."

"Certainly, we are always looking for people to donate or people to help us fund these projects," Thomas said.

Most of their funding comes in through fundraisers, according to Thomas.

The foundation has grown more than they expected since they began, Thomas said.

"When we started the foundation, we were thinking, let's raise $3,000 or $4,000 a year, let's give away $3,000 or $4,000," he said. "It was just our way of doing something good and remembering Joseph."

They've provided more than $100,000 worth of medical equipment and other help to more than 100 families over the last 10 years, according to Thomas.

More information on the John Thomas Foundation can be found online at www.JohnThomasFoundation.org and by searching for the John Thomas Foundation on Facebook.

___

(c)2017 Weatherford Democrat (Weatherford, Texas)

Visit Weatherford Democrat (Weatherford, Texas) at weatherforddemocrat.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.