Aaron's Story:

“Hi, I’m Aaron. When I was 7 years old I was taken to the hospital with terrible stomach-aches. No one knew what was going on and I was very sore. It was very painful for me to eat or drink. I stayed in the hospital for two weeks. I had many, many needles and tubes put everywhere. Sometimes it was really sore and very scary for me. Finally the doctors told me I had Crohn’s disease, which made my tummy sore. I tried many medicines to make me feel better – nothing worked. I missed three months of school and I lost 30 pounds.

The doctors told my parents that I needed a very special medicine given to me by an infusion every 6-8 weeks, and that I would have to I stay in the hospital for a whole day. Thankfully, my family has insurance that pays for my treatments. My medicine costs more than $40,000 every year. If I did not have access to this medicine, I could still be very sick.

Every time I went to the hospital, I would give a donation to make other children feel better. Then I decided to start a charity called Aaron’s Apple. My charity will help families that cannot afford expensive medications such as the one I need.”

Aaron’s Apple’s primary goal is to help families cope with overwhelming medical costs. As the costs of delivering healthcare rises, the ability of families to afford the appropriate and necessary healthcare diminishes. This places enormous stress upon families. In their time of need, Aaron’s Apple helps families pay for expensive medication and treatments.  No child should ever have to suffer in pain, and no parent should ever have to watch their child suffer because they cannot afford to pay for treatment.