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By Christian Simmons 

For the Clemmons Courier

CLEMMONS — Heather Malone, and her son, Teddy, have seen their fair share of hard times. Even before Teddy was born.

“Teddy was born at 27 weeks, 1 pound and 7 ounces. I had eclampsia so before he was born I had a seizure which caused a lack of oxygen to him in the womb,” Heather said. “A month into him living in the NICU, he had something called necrotizing enterocolitis where half of his small intestines died and they had to remove that part. Since birth, Teddy has been through many medical hardships and illnesses but thankfully has fought through.” 

The hardships didn’t stop there. 

Getting Teddy to where he needed to go has brought its own sense of difficulties.

“The past two or three months have been a reality check for us,” Heather said. “It’s really difficult for us to get Teddy in and out of our small car, and also physically taking a toll on my husband who now is the only one of the two of us who can lift Teddy. Teddy cannot sit up on his own so in the typical back seat, he has to have a special car seat, which makes it even more difficult to get him in.”

Heather and her husband realized that their vehicle wasn’t going to be enough.

“We might not be able to get Teddy out of the house unless it is completely necessary until we can get a van,” Heather said. “An accessible-wheelchair van is the goal but even if it were a newer van that meets medicaid requirements they will convert it to a wheelchair-accessible van.” 

On top of the physical hardships, this need has brought emotional hardships as well.

“This was hard to think about because we love going places as a family and it has become less and less that we can but now we really cut back,” Heather said. “Teddy does see a few specialists a month for care and truly is a fighter through all he has been through.”

Not taking all this lying down, Heather began, and still continues her quest until she reaches her goal.

“I started a GoFundMe reluctantly because we had done it before and thankfully raised funds and family helped us get a wheelchair-accessible van but unfortunately it stopped working within months,” Heather said. “We are not just asking for a hand out. I’m adding to this fund also what we can, and have an Etsy shop and a specific Printify shop for the fundraiser to help towards funding the vehicle.”

Heather said that she is also reaching out to grants and companies requesting other assistance.

“I’ve also made flyers and will be reaching out to local businesses to see if they can help or offer any 50/50 raffles, donation buckets or any kind of fundraising or donations possible and will be posting flyers around the city where I can to share,” Heather said. “Another thing I want to do is search for side gigs or small jobs to help towards this goal. I am all in and will do anything to get there. Unfortunately with our situation, I cannot commit to a full-time job with a regular schedule and am ready to make this happen. I guess I mentioned working and looking for things because I don’t want to just depend on others for this, and don’t expect it but we may need support, and also am willing to work my butt off to get it.”

If there’s anyone who is willing to help or point Heather in the direction of where she can help her son, please use the links below. Any and all assistance will be appreciated. 

Donations: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Rollin-with-Teddy

Information: https://www.facebook.com/LovlieHeather