Durans picked as Inspirational Family
CRANBERRY TWP — When Samantha and Andrew Duran were pregnant with their third child, they knew his life would be a little more difficult than that of other children. They found out he had spina bifida from prenatal testing.
After Maddox was born though, the Durans found he had the most severe form of spina bifida and other complications.
“It's been a roller coaster,” Samantha Duran said.
The Durans were selected as the Cranberry Community Uniting People's 2018 Inspirational Family. The nonprofit each year selects a local family experiencing financial need due to a medical hardship to support financially.
Money is raised through several events including the signature Cranberry CUP weekend, planned for Aug. 3 to 5, that includes a kickoff party, softball tournament and golf outing. But it's just as important to rally the community around the family and spread awareness of Maddox's diagnoses, said Robin Shaffer, vice president of Cranberry CUP.
“It's about getting the word out there and lifting them up emotionally and supporting them,” Shaffer said.
With Maddox's spina bifida, a lesion on his back exposed the nerves in his spine which he had closed in a surgery during his first day of life. It would be the first of six surgeries Maddox, who is 5 months old, has had, his mother said.
Maddox also has Chiari II malformation and hydrocephalus, complications that can occur with spina bifida. With the Chiari II malformation, the brainstem is elongated and positioned lower than usual, which can cause problems with breathing and swallowing.
Hydrocephalus is an accumulation of fluid in the brain, and Maddox had a shunt put in to drain the fluid and had another surgery to move the shunt. He also has dysgenesis of the corpus callosum and colpocephaly.
“One of our friends said he stole our hearts with his strength, and amen to that,” Samantha Duran said.
Maddox is on a pulse oximeter to monitor his oxygen saturation at all times, and he sleeps with oxygen at night. He is fed through a tube in his stomach because he aspirates what he drinks and has severe reflux.
“You don't prepare for anything because spina bifida — it's called snowflake syndrome — every single case is different,” Samantha Duran said. However she said they felt as though they knew more about his situation while she was pregnant.“Because now it's been diagnosis after diagnosis. We're still learning new things about him,” she said.The Durans were nominated for the Cranberry CUP by their next door neighbor, Samantha Duran said. Each family nominated goes through a vetting process where the selection committee reviews financial records and other information to ensure there is a need.Although the Inspiration Family receives much of the focus during the August weekend of events, the Cranberry CUP assists other families with smaller needs throughout the year, Shaffer said. The group has raised more than $1.5 million for local families since it was founded in 2000, she said.Cranberry CUP doesn't pay for medical bills, but it does help in any other way it can, Shaffer said, whether that be special adaptive equipment, home health aides or home additions or alterations.The Durans are relatively new to the Cranberry community. They moved two years ago from the Woodland Hills area to send their children to Seneca Valley School District. Samantha Duran said their neighbors quickly became like family to them.Maddox has two older sisters, Paisley, 5, and Juliette, 3. The girls love Maddox, especially Paisley, who dotes on him, Samantha Duran said.Although Maddox's life will be harder than most, his parents just want the best for him, whatever that may be.“Our motto is maximizing his potential,” his mother said. “His sweet face, it really helps get us through. He really is just the sweetest thing.”
