Tucker Scott was a little boy whose story stole our hearts for just a few short weeks. His journey with HLH, though brief, will impact the lives of everyone he touched forever.  Tucker Scott Brittingham was born August 1, 2013 in Kalamazoo Michigan to Jason Brittingham and Leeann Ford. Tucker was thought to be in good health and went home as any baby would go home. Two days later Jason and Leeann took Tucker to his well check and immediately were told he had a fever and was septic and to go directly to the hospital. When at the hospital they admitted baby Tucker because they couldn't get his fever under control and his liver levels were ridiculously high. This was immediately a scary situation not knowing what was going on with him. They decided to do the spinal Tap to check for HLH. At that time Tucker was then put into PICU and put on a respirator and received blood transfusions high powered antibiotics and steroids. Days passed and results came back that he in fact had HLH . The testing poking and prodding continued until they just couldn't get anymore blood from this tiny 7 pound baby. Chemo was started it seemed to be suppressing the HLH symptoms. He stayed stable for a week or so and then everything just went downhill again. He couldn't receive his chemo and his blood cell counts were low. The steroids were backed off and things took a turn for the worse. An infection took over they then found out Tucker had blood clots The only way to treat them was with blood thinners. Any other time they poked him, he would bleed at a very fast rate.
Tucker with his Mom & Dad The hospital then decided to transfer Tucker to Cincinnati Children's Hospital in hopes of better treatment. Baby tucker was flown to Cincinnati and his condition worsened to the point that his liver and kidneys shut down and all hope had disappeared. Jason and Leeann had to make the most heart wrenching decision ever. They had to decide that nothing was going to save this precious baby and decided to remove all of the tubes and wires. 30 minutes after making the decision, Baby Tucker passed away on August 30 2013 . They held him tight and loved him while he took his last breaths. This has broken there hearts, changed there lives and things will never be the same. The pain,the heartache, the guilt of not being able to fix him will forever haunt them and creates sadness and helplessness for the entire family. Tucker is a gift given to my brother and Leeann that we will never ever forget and he will always be in our heart. Now our goal is to let everyone in this world know that this disease affects people everyday and it needs better treatment options and a lot of awareness so that we as people can take this bad experience the worst experience ever and make it into a positive and try to save others! Jamie, Tucker's Aunt More on Tucker and his family Tucker's Aunt Jamie had organized a donation site in August to help with medical costs in effort to help her family as she was several states away. This site will now help Jason and Leeann tackle the large medical bills and Tucker's memorial service. No amount is too small. Donate below & don't forget to click LIKE on Tucker's Facebook page to help raise awareness for HLH.
6 Comments
Ashley Elliott
9/10/2013 03:51:05 am
It is so important that people become aware of this disease. I am a very close friend of Jamie's and I've been trying to post everything she posts about Tucker and HLH. I want people to know the symptoms and risks and things that could potentially cause this. It's heartbreaking to me to see how this has hurt their family, even though I'm not a family member. I pray every day that Jason and Leann are comforted by God and know they will see their precious boy again one day. <3
Janet Cox
10/8/2013 04:03:51 am
I also lost a Granddaughter, this year,to this devastating disease. She started to become poorly on her 5th birthday in June and after many visits to the local doctors she was eventually admitted to hospital where she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma but if that wasn't enough she also had HLH as a secondary infection. No treatment worked and she sadly passed away on 21st July, 2013 from HLH. We are raising money and trying to make people aware of this dreadful disease with charity events. Her parent are devastated and are finding it hard to come to terms with their loss as we all are.
Amanda Majusiak
11/7/2013 10:45:54 am
Thanks Jason. Together we CAN make a difference!
Amanda Majuisiak
11/7/2013 10:49:46 am
Janet I'm so sorry for your loss. If you're on Facebook please visit the HLH support group. It is a wonderful group of people. You can find a link on www.HLHSupport.org . Please let us know if we can help promote your events to raise awareness. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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