Let me introduce you to the Dockery family: Zach, Megan, Brixton and Bowen. On July 30, 2023, they welcomed their newest addition Bowen to the family. Bowen was three weeks premature but healthy other than a failed hearing test that they were sure he would pass at his next checkup. The family gushed over Bowen when they got him home a few days after delivery, his big brother was smitten for sure. Megan sensed something was just not right around day 9 on August 8, 2023. That evening around 6:00pm her mother’s intuition urged her to load her boys up and rush to the nearest children’s hospital an hour from their home in Chattanooga, TN. Once there the ER team whisked Bowen off for a full work up while Megan waited anxiously. Viral meningitis…their 9-day-old son had contracted viral meningitis and was hospitalized in the PICU at Children’s Erlanger in Chattanooga immediately. Their lives changed in the blink of an eye. Megan stayed vigilant by Bowen’s side while Zach juggled their son Brixton, work and time with Bowen. Over the next few weeks Bowen’s health was growing progressively worse. His meningitis had caused myocarditis, inflammation of the middle of his heart wall, and his tiny heart was wearing out quickly. The team worked tirelessly to keep Bowen moving toward release but his heart was just so tired. Bowen would move forward one day then slide back into a worse place the next until eventually, seven weeks after being admitted on September 14, 2023, he was transferred by life flight to Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. Once again Bowen was whisked away by a huge cardiac team of specialists to evaluate his condition and come up with a plan of action. That plan of action has led the family and cardiology team to place Bowen on a transplant list for a new heart. Not only is Bowen in a dire situation health wise, so is the family financially! Megan is remaining by Bowen’s side while Zach and Brixton are 180 miles away! As Bowen’s heart struggles, Zach, Megan and Brixton’s hearts are aching for each other. The amount of time that Bowen will be in Nashville is unknown, Megan is in for the long haul, but the hospital room is not compatible with Brixton being reunited with his mother. Zach cannot financially support two homes so at this time Megan is staying in Bowen’s small hospital room with him. Megan needs her boys and husband, and they need her. The family’s immediate needs are: a space to call home in Nashville where Brixton and his great grandmother can join Megan, she’s currently alone, away from home and terrified of the future health of Bowen, she NEEDS a place to relax and recharge to stay healthy herself; they need financial assistance for travel expenses so that Zach can be by his wife and children’s side as often as his work will allow; and they need prayers. There will certainly be a huge financial burden on the family for an unforeseeable amount of time. You CAN make a difference in the life of Bowen and his family with your tax-deductible donation to COTA in honor of this family! Thank you for your contribution and prayers.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.