Flip's Fund
The initial proposal was to support children with cancer and high school scholarships. Today, we still support children with cancer and other critical illnesses as well as high school scholarships along with service organizations including Lions Club and Boy Scouts, among others.
Other groups that help continue to support Flip's Fund include: State Park Speedway, Flip’s Golf Outing, Wausau 525 and many private donations. To date, we have received over $200,000 with our goal for total fund input being $525,000 by the year 2025. The fund is due to expire by 2031 with all funds dispersed. The Wausau 525 donates to Flip’s Fund and also makes direct donations in the name of Flip’s Fund. These donations are part of the total goal of $525,000. Thank You to ALL who have donated time and funding to Flip’s Fund. Take a few moments to view some of the kids sponsored by Flip's Fund this year and in past years; Their stories are below. We hope you'll consider making a donation to Flip's Fund; Your attendance at our events is always appreciated too in support. - Ralph Ralph Merwin |
Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.” We ALL Can Make a Difference.Your donations are always welcome to Flip's Fund. They are truly appreciated by those we're helping and those we continue to help.Donations to Flip's Fund can be mailed to:
Wausau 525 Group, Inc. c/o Flip's Fund 8911 N Mountain Rd Wausau, Wisconsin 54401 Flip's Fund is a registered 501 (c)(3) charitable organization in Wausau, Wisconsin. Your contribution(s) to the fund may be tax deductible; Check with your taxing authority for details or contact us for more information. Thank you for your support. |
Flip's Fund 2018
Sponsored Recipients:
Emmersyn
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Emmersyn“Emmersyn is a spirited 6 year old little girl. She was unexpectedly welcomed into this world three months early and as a result, an ultrasound of her brain at five weeks old showed a high likelihood of Cerebral Palsy. Throughout her short life, she has endured countless surgeries and medical procedures to assist with her muscle tension and other medical issues. As she has grown, her muscles continue to pose issues and she’s now facing two major surgeries to correct some of those issues. Her tight muscles have pulled her hip joints out of socket so a total hip reconstruction is in her future as well as the placement of a medical pump in her abdomen to regulate the continuous release of muscle relaxant to her spinal cord. Both surgeries will require lengthy hospital stays at Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota as well as extensive recoveries once she returns home.”
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Karlen (pictured at right)
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Karlen“Karlen is a 15 year old sophomore at Wausau East High school who is developmentally a 2-3 year old. He suffers from seizures which are currently controlled by medications, low muscle tone and has autistic traits. His parents started to worry when they noticed that Karlen would achieve all the developmental markers (sitting, walking, etc.) just a little later than he was supposed to and when he wasn’t talking by the age of 2 years old. Karlen loves motorized vehicles, farming and his iPod. He enjoys helping his uncle Wayne on the farm, watching his uncle Wayne and cousin Brett race stock cars in the summer, riding in anything motorized and watching machinery videos on his iPod. He also loves animals and has a great knack with them. The family pet, a yellow lab, is usually right by his side and even sleeps with Karlen. Although Karlen is very limited verbally, he usually can communicate fairly easily. He is currently working on using his iPod as a communication method. Recently, Karlen went and watched the snowmobile races in Gleason and had a great time; His family feels that he will have a great time at the Wausau 525 Snowmobile Championship and look forward to being here with him.”
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Cecil
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Cecil“Cecil is a well-liked, funny, active 11 year old boy who is affected by seizures. His seizures started when he was about five months old. From the day the doctor diagnosed him, Cecil has spent time in Marshfield hospital getting on a very specialized diet and getting on medication to help stop the seizures. Due to issues caused by the seizures he has had trouble walking. Cecil has been active at Helping Hands with horseback riding and he is taking swimming lessons to help strengthen his body. Cecil is currently catching up to his classmates in all his abilities now that his seizures seem to be under control but he is still very much behind. His classmates are more than willing to assist Cecil with anything he needs in the meantime.”
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Noah (on left) w/ brother Logan
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Noah"I went in for my 20 week ultrasound and was told Noah was a healthy baby boy with no complications. Noah was born March 4, 2013 at St. Claire’s hospital six weeks premature. He came into this world dark purple in need of resuscitation. It took 5 minutes to get Noah to start breathing on his own. He was transported to St. Joseph’s hospital where he resided for over a month in NICU. While he was there they ran multiple tests as he had low muscle tone and a horrible suck swallow reflex. He was on oxygen and an NG feed which is where they stick a tube through his nose into his stomach to eat. They did an MRI of his brain and labeled him with what looked like dandy walker variant which is a cyst on the cerebellum; 1 in 20,000 kids are born with it. While in the NICU, Noah ended up with SVT which is an extremely fast heart rate. To be exact, his was 355 beats a minute for 45 minutes. They had to intervene with IV medication. They refused to let him leave the hospital unless he was off oxygen or able to feed by himself. After a month he was eating on his own and we began our journey home. It was not even 2 weeks later Noah had a hard time eating and was losing weight. He ended up back in the hospital with failure to thrive along with aspirate pneumonia and was placed on a G tube feed. The G tube feed was unsuccessful as food kept coming right up his throat and out of his mouth. They turned the G tube feed into a GJ tube feed where he was then fed through his jejunum. We lived in the hospital for 6 weeks during that time. Noah then came home with a GJ tube, pulse ox machine, oxygen and nebulizer machine. We were in and out of the hospitals for multiple health reasons the whole first year of his life. He was diagnosed with Dandy-Walker variant, a chromosomal deletion 4q22.2 to be exact, hypotonia, chronic lung disease, dysmotility of the esophagus, osteopenia, and SVT (super ventricular tachycardia). The doctors did not have high hopes for Noah and gave him a prognosis to live to the age of 2. Noah went back to the hospital at 16 months with a fatal respiratory infection. He was airlifted to St. Joseph’s hospital. Noah was then intubated. I was told when we got there by the physician on the floor that Noah was barely hanging on. We were there for two weeks before transferring out to Milwaukee Children’s Hospital. While at St. Joseph’s, Noah has multiple failed extubations; The heavy medications they gave him shut down his kidneys, he went on dialysis and needed 12 blood transfusions and 6 platelet transfusions. He ended up with a chest tube as the oxygen levels he was on tore his lung. Once we transferred out to Milwaukee, they found he ended up with a blood clot in his groin to his knee and needed Lovenox injections in his belly for 6 weeks on top of dialysis and being intubated. Noah’s lungs were completely clasped they had to do exploratory surgery. We resided at Children’s Hospital for 3 months not knowing if my son was going to come home with me. I prayed everyday for a miracle. They attempted to extubate him and once again he failed. He was breathing on his own but it just wasn’t enough so I had to make the decision no mother should ever have to make, “Do I place my son on a ventilator?” Well I did and I was able to bring my baby home but our lives were forever changed. Noah has been in critical but stable condition. He was also diagnosed with Ponto Cerebellar Hypoplaysia which is a condition where the cerebellum did not develop. Last year Noah was diagnosed with seizures which have taken so much from him. Noah is home and is continually fighting a battle that has the upper hand. Noah is a warrior. They gave him a prognosis to live to the age of 2 and my son will be celebrating his 5th birthday this coming March!"
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Logan (on right) w/ brother Noah
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Logan“Logan is a 9 year old boy who was born 4 weeks premature. Everything seemed OK when Logan was born but at about 7 months that changed. I was attempting to have Logan sit up on his own and realized he leaned to one side. Certain foods I would feed to him would make him gag and he had caught respiratory infections very easy. I took him to see his doctor and she referred us to a neurologist who didn’t even give me the time of day, didn’t even look at Logan and said, “See you back in 2 years.” I was furious! I went back to Logan’s doctor and demanded a second opinion. A couple months later, we went back to see the neurologist who had set up an MRI. Logan was diagnosed with scarring on the left and right cerebral part of his brain. First, Logan was labeled as globally developmentally delayed and later re-diagnosed with spastic diplegia which is a type of cerebral palsy. Logan has been considered a medical mystery for years and has gone undiagnosed as well as being diagnosed with ADD/ADHA ODD under the spectrum and sensory processing integration disorder. Logan is a very caring young man full of life and loves to laugh. He enjoys riding his bike, watching football, collecting cars and building with his Legos.”
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Sophie
Jacob
Charlotte
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Sophie, Jacob & Charlotte“Sophie, Jacob and Charlotte were born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. As time has passed, we've learned it's more of a profound hearing loss as opposed to a moderate hearing loss as was first diagnosed. This had prompted us to seek care at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. We met 2 audiologists on May 4th and they suggested we return for another booth test, a speech evaluation, sedated CT, sedated MRI and sedated hearing tests for each of them to see if they are cochlear implant candidates. The next Monday, I spoke with their scheduler 5 or so times to coordinate most of the tests. On May 22nd, we made the 3 1/2 hour drive to stay for the week. On the 23rd, we had appointments all day and the kids got newer, more powerful hearing aids to hopefully provide them with some sound until surgery. We had the CT and MRIs on May 24th; Sophie did so amazing for her CT and didn't need to be sedated! Jacob needed to be put under for a short time for his CT because he wanted to look around a lot. The MRIs required IVs and for the kids to be put under for about an hour. Everything went great, but they were VERY VERY cranky when they woke up and we dealt with crying and screaming for about 2 hours until we finally got them to rest. On June 30th, the kids needed to have sedated ABRs. In the past, the ABR through our local ENT showed moderate to severe hearing loss which doesn't seem to match with what we'd been seeing. The results of these tests are that Sophie and Jacob have "no useable hearing". This means that traditional forms of amplification (hearing aids) will never benefit them. Surgery was August 7th, we implanted both children on the same day, both bilaterally. They were activated on September 7th with the Kanso sound processors and received their N7s on October 5th. The first week post-op the kids did great. They were back to normal within 3 days, though our 3 year old daughter did need a 2nd round of antibiotics. Post activation has been a series of ups and downs. Our son, who is 2, fights us when it's time to put his processors on but we're working with our audiologist to determine that it's because he's a 2 year old boy rather than because the noises are too loud. Our daughter loves wearing her Kansos and we just had her start wearing the N7 and she also really likes that. They are so light and thin that I don't think she even notices they're on. The kids wear two of the hair clips on each Kanso so that when it comes off, it just swings back on. Jacob has been walking more since being implanted and responding to noises gradually. Charlotte had surgery on January 11th and will be activated in the beginning of February. We have chosen the same hospital and equipment as her brother and sister. We love swimming, playing on the playground, doing somersaults and traveling. Having the Aqua+ for their N7s will be wonderful for our vacation to the WI Dells in November. I'm really looking forward to seeing them as they hear the noises of a waterpark for the first time. As time goes on we're looking forward to both children learning to speak and read. We are hoping that they'll be able to mainstream at some point in their educational careers and be able to lead full lives, free from any complications or issues.”
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Flip's Fund 2017
Sponsored Recipients:
Jaxon
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Jaxon“We were blessed with the birth of our son Jaxon on October 13, 2016. Due to pregnancy complications he had to be brought into this world at 27 weeks + 2 days, or he would have passed in the womb. He was 1 pound, 9.8 oz at birth. Jaxon has proven he may be tiny but he is truly mighty! He was intubated on one of the most aggressive forms of breathing support, an oscillator, for 44 days. Throughout that time he battled fluid in his lungs, both lungs collapsing at different times, emphysema, pneumonia twice, multiple times being poked for an IV, and one awful night of the Doctor telling us he wouldn’t make it. Mommy didn’t get to hold him until his 39th day of his life, and shortly after he was extubated as he started doing better and was put on another breathing system. Also, since he had his breathing tube out, we have seen a whole new baby who uses his voice to make noises and cry. We are so thankful for our son. We have experienced some scary days with him, yet haven’t given up on hope with him. We have fallen in love with him, and so have many of our family, friends, and the hospital staff. He will most likely be in the NICU until January 2017 or later, but that’s okay with us as he is alive! We believe God has big plans for him! Thank you for your willingness to support Jaxon! He is truly blessed to be loved by so many.”
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Avery
Avery & Mom
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Avery“On January 7, 2015 Avery was welcomed into this world by her loving parents and big sisters, at this time we were told we had a beautiful healthy baby girl which we were all so thankful for. Ten months later at her routine check-up we found out that there may be an issue with Avery’s heart. Our family Doctor referred us to the cardiac specialists and after many rigorous tests found that our sweet little girl had CHD or a hole (ASD) in the wall of the top two chambers of the heart. We decided we wanted to give her little heart the chance to fix itself without an invasive procedure and made an appointment for a year later to see if any progress was made. A year later at her next appointment we found that the septum, instead of growing closed, grew larger. If the hole had grown smaller, we could have used cardiac catheterization to use a plug in the hole. We were told that baby Avery had to undergo open heart surgery at the age of 22 months. She needed the surgery as soon as possible so we scheduled the surgery for two weeks later. During our extended hospital stay she had a few complications. Avery developed Pneumonia in one lung shortly after the procedure while her other lung started to collapse and she was unable to breathe on her own because of it. With the help of a great surgical team, caring doctors and nurses, and many family and friends she is doing well on a long road to recovery. Thank you for your willingness to support Avery, she is a true blessing and such a fighter.”
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Tynan
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Tynan“Tynan is active 9 year old who loves to ride his four wheeler, build Legos and loves science, machines and anything with an engine. He lives at home with his mom, dad and 3 older sisters. This past October, Tynan was attending the WIHA State horse competition and due to some climbing, falling and unfortunate timing he landed right next to a passing horse and was kicked in the side of the head. He spent several days in ICU at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison and he had craniotomy surgery to remove an epidural hematoma and also sustained multiple facial fractures, a large laceration near his eye and bleeding behind the eye. As Tynan continues his long recovery, he continues with many therapies. Over time his brain continues to heal and we hope and pray he will regain function and sight in his eye. He continues to work on patience and going at a slower pace as he recovers and transitions going back to school a couple hours a day. Thank you to Flip’s Fund for this wonderful opportunity!"
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Nora
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NoraNora lives in Kronenwetter with her Dad, Mom, 3 sisters and 2 brothers. She was born January 21, 2016. Nora has been diagnosed with Microcephaly which has meant countless trips to dozens of doctors in multiple states hoping to find the root of the diagnosis. Unfortunately that day has not yet come. At almost 1 year old, Nora is developmentally at that of a 4-5 month old. Even though Nora has been through so many struggles, she continues to be happy and have a smile that will make you melt.
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Kayla
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Kayla“Kayla was born December 27, 2010 with a severe heart condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). It basically means she is missing the left side of her heart. She also has an under developed aorta. Kayla has only one heart valve in her entire heart and it leaks. Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee did Kayla’s first open heart surgery when she was less than two weeks old. She has had 2 more surgeries since then that were part of a three step procedure. Surgeons did this so she would have a better chance at survival; They don’t do the complete surgery initially on an infant because the survival rate is really low. During Kayla’s first surgery, surgeons accidentally paralyzed her left vocal cord so she was feed through a feeding tube for about 4 years. Because of how Kayla’s heart is now setup, her blood doesn’t oxygenate normally so she has lower oxygen stats and her lips, hands and feet turn purple or dark blue depending on what she is doing and or how cold the temperature is. She was on oxygen for a little over two years.
The Herma Heart Center in Milwaukee Children’s Hospital told us that they have no idea how long someone with Kayla’s condition will live because the oldest ones with it are in their thirties. Doctors also said by ages 12-16 patients will need a heart transplant because the heart has to do the work of both sides and it will eventually enlarge and fail. Last year Kayla’s doctor noticed her heart walls are getting thick enough to concern her and her liver is also enlarged. Kayla was given a 75% chance to make it to age 1 without the problems with her underdeveloped aorta and leaking heart valve. When doctors first found out Kayla had her severe heart condition awhile before she was born, we were told we should terminate the pregnancy or prepare for a funeral after she would be born because there is no way she would survive. We didn’t listen to them and Kayla has been beating the odds ever since. Kayla is a miracle and will be turning 6 on December 27th. Our hope is that someday when she needs a transplant she will be able to get one or that technology advances enough where a cloned heart from cord stem cells might be a possibility and Kayla can live a healthy, happy full life. Kayla has two sisters and one brother, Ashley (age 7), Lexi (age 4) and Dilan (age 15). Kayla loves to play with dolls, go to parks and playgrounds, sing and hum tunes, etc. Kayla is full of energy and looks like nothing is wrong with her. If you didn’t know what she has been through you wouldn’t even notice right away.” |
Flip's Fund 2016
Sponsored Recipients:
Lauren
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Lauren“Lauren lives in Wausau with her family and loves hanging out with people. Due to a birth injury, she has cerebral palsy. Lauren receives therapy, but there is no cure for her condition. She has made many friends over the last 8 years at church, school, at the outpatient therapy office and through Shared Blessings. Daily, we trust in the grace of God to help us thrive, rather than just survive. We so thankful for a supportive, inclusive community that cares for kids with special needs.”
Dan, Kristy, Abby, Lauren & Tytus |
Tommy
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TommyTommy was born on August 21, 2009. He was always a happy and chunky baby. His parents never thought something was wrong until he turned two years old and was not talking at all. Tommy would have a meltdown and it could last up to 3 hours. His parents would put everything on the center or top shelf and let him choose what he wanted as he could not tell them. It took about 9 months to get him tested for autism and he was diagnosed with it right away. Tommy is now a funny, loving, and energetic 6 year old boy however, at times his autism can be difficult for him and others around him. When Tommy becomes over stimulated his behavior can become both physically and verbally aggressive. To help minimize his meltdowns, that can still last up to three hours, his family is working toward getting Tommy a service dog. A service dog would be able to help Tommy with these meltdowns and he would be able to self-regulate himself through redirection, providing care to his dog (petting, giving hugs, letting it outside), and by the dog showing love towards Tommy by laying by him. Having a service dog would benefit the family as a whole as it would prevent Tommy from wondering off and getting lost and help the family participate in more “normal” family activities such as eating at a restaurant. Tommy’s parents are trying to do everything they can to help Tommy succeed in life like their other two kids. He will just need a little more help. They feel like getting him a service dog will be a big step in the right direction. The donation that Tommy is receiving from the proceeds from the Wausau 525 Snowmobile Championship will be going to help Tommy’s family get him his dog.
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Michael & Mom
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Michael“Thank you for this opportunity! Michael is very special to me and most everyone who is lucky enough to meet him. Michael was born extremely premature. Doctors said he wouldn't make it and now he is 5 years old! The two most significant health conditions that affect him are cerebral palsy and blindness. He enjoys life and reminds me how to do so each day. Thank you again!”
Tracey Schindler & Michael Vega Schindler |
Lizzy
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Lizzy“Lizzy was born Oct 18, 2000 weighing 2 lbs, 1 oz. She lives in Kronenwetter with her Stepdad, Mom, 2 sisters and 2 brothers. She loves to sing, read, her gaming club and family time. She has Cerebral Palsy and has had many surgeries but through all that she has never stopped smiling. Lizzy has an amazing positive attitude is an amazing student and loves life. She has a huge heart and is willing to help others whenever she can. We can never say Thank You enough times to show how much this truly means to our family, Thank You!”
Ryan, Kari, Ashley, Lizzy, Devin, Cami & Anthony |
Devin
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Devin“Devin was born September 28, 2003. He decided to come into the world 16 weeks early weighing only 1 lb, 5.4 oz. Devin lives in Kronenwetter with his Stepdad, Mom, 3 sisters and 1 brother. He is one of Lizzy’s younger brothers. We knew that it was going to be an uphill climb for Devin but he did it. He fought hard to live and today he is such a sweet, amazing young man and everyone that meets him falls in love with him. He is blind and has Cerebral Palsy. Devin loves country music and game shows. The Price is Right is his favorite game show! He loves to spend time with all his family and has an amazing weekday chauffeur that just lights up his day. Devin is in a wheelchair but he tries hard everyday to be an independent young man. Devin just has this amazing outlook on life that melts our hearts and everyone that meets him. Devin has had many surgeries in a few different states but will still be smiling and full of love for everyone no matter what he is going through. The love he has for his family and people in his life is truly priceless. We are truly honored and blessed and are so very grateful that Devin was one of the children picked and can never thank you enough.”
Ryan, Kari, Ashley, Lizzy, Devin, Cami & Anthony |
Flip's Fund 2015
Sponsored Recipients:
Noah & Family
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NoahNoah resides in the Wausau area with his mom, dad and sister. Three and a half years ago, he was diagnosed with a benign inoperable tumor called a pilocytic astrocytoma. He is on a combination of drug treatment and chemotherapy to shrink the tumor. He is currently on his 3rd round of chemo.
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Kennedy
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KennedyKennedy is a 20 month old who suffers from a rare strain of Neuroblastoma. She resides in the Wausau area along with her dad and two sisters. Recently, she began traveling to Chicago to receive care from the leading expert of Neuroblastoma.
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Isaac
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IsaacIsaac is 11 years old. He is a 5th grader at St. Bronislava School in Plover. He is diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. He very recently began 12 weeks of chemotherapy; He will need surgery and more chemotherapy.
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