Final Journey
November 19, 2008

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

In the early hours of November 19, 2008 Mitchell Thorp’s strength and courage lead him in a new direction, on a new journey with our Lord . . . one without pain, burden, or uncertainty. He fought for almost 5 years to the very end and left this world on his and the Lord\'s terms. He is survived by his mother and father, Beth and Brad, and his brother, Matthew, along with his two grandmothers, Carole Thorp and Elizabeth Bobek, many aunts and uncles and cousins, and an incredibly supportive community, all who loved him dearly. Mitchell will be honored and celebrated at North Coast Calvary Church on Thursday, December 4th from 4 to 6pm at 1330 Poinsettia Lane, Carlsbad, CA 92011, 760-929-0029. A private family burial will take place on Friday. Contributions may be made to the Mitchell Thorp Fund at US Bank, 1074 North El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024. Flowers are welcome. Please join us for a reception immediately following the service.

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Latest Update
June 08, 2008

It has been a long last 4 months for Mitchell as he got sick with the flu the beginning of February and it was very difficult for him to get rid of the virus. Over the next couple of months he struggled to keep any food in his system. After 3 emergency room visits and still no answers on how come he can’t keep his food down he was given a Gastroparesis diagnosis were the stomach shuts down in the processing of food. We now had to take his G-tube and make it a J-Tube with feeds directly into his small intestine on April 28^th this procedure was completed.

On May 3^rd Mitchell suffered his first seizure and was admitted to the hospital. He had lost over 30 lbs., now down to 84 lbs and not thriving for life at this point. As the medical staff began controlling his seizure activity he slowly began to come around and then started suffering from sleep apnea up to several minutes at a time he would not breath, which thru the medical staff into overdrive and into the ICU area for 2 weeks. Mitchell’s central nervous system was starting to affect more and more areas of his body. As he began to put some weight back on he started turning the corner again and began his fight to get home. While we were in the hospital for 4 weeks the doctors were still trying to figure out what was going on with Mitchell. As they ran many of the same tests from the UCLA hospital stay all of the tests kept coming back normal or negative. All the more frustrating for Mitchell and the unknown would continue this journey.

On May 30^th Mitchell was discharged from the hospital to come home. He has put back on around 10 lbs. so far and continues to fight. He is sleeping throughout the nights and anxious and frustrated throughout the day. We are continuing to pursue the TMJ problem as we believe that his jaws do have a displacement and they need to be corrected.

God Bless and Thank You for all Your Support and Prayers!

The Thorp Family

Latest Update
January 31, 2008

Happy New Year!  Since our last update Mitchell is still stable but is not showing much improvement in his ability to move, speak, or walk.  We our using the LENS system that we spoke about in our last update and although we do see some change not enough to report on at this time.  Another situation presented itself in December our nutrionist Kim Shutte was sharing Mitchell’s story to a Doctor in Los Angeles.  He gave her a DVD to share with us stating that we should take Mitchell to see this expert Doctor in Washington, DC who specializes in TMD disorders and is on the board of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain. From hearing about Mitchell’s symptoms this could still be a problem as to why he is not coming out of this. The symptoms after watching the DVD of other patient’s movement disorders seemed to be similar and very severe like Mitchell’s.

We were able to take Mitchell the week of January 14^th to see Dr. Stack, who was recovering from his own illness and came in just to see Mitchell. We are treating Mitchell for a TM joint problem as his most current MRI shows that both of his disc’s are displaced in an open and closed position along with a lateral displacement of the disc in the left TM joint. The treatment process requires the use of a mouth piece that will realign the disc within the TM joint. He currently has a lower appliance in his mouth which at the time has been causing a lot of discomfort and pain as the TM joint area begins to shift. We have to go back the week of February 18^th to get an upper appliance that we hope and pray will provide the additional relief and show us the signs of things turning back on.   Please be in prayer for us as Mitchell begins to realign his body to where it needs to be and that the next trip will provide the results that all of us have been waiting for. Dr. Stack feels confident that he will be able to help Mitchell. We will have to make at least one trip per month back to the Washington, DC area to get the follow up treatment that will be needed. 

Mitchell Update
September 01, 2007

Mitchell is the strongest, bravest boy we have ever met, his spirit to live and fight the unknown is amazing to us everyday.  There are days however, we see in his body and the look of grief in his face and eyes that he wants to give up.  But we won’t let him Brad and I are his biggest cheerleaders!!  Every second of our days are very consumed in caring for him.  Mitchell’s condition is still very serious he cannot walk, talk, and has difficulty trying to open his eyes. However, we know he is still in there as he understands us when we speak, he gets frustrated and hits his chair or the pillows so for that we are so grateful for the fight that he stills has in him. Through the help of our insurance we are going to look into home health care for him 1 or 2 days a week so we can take a breather.     

We have made some progress but not like we where hoping for.  We have purchased a standing frame for him for the house to get him up in a totally 90 degree standing position.  He can only tolerate about 15-20 minutes before he gives out as it does put pressure on his head.  He also cannot hold his head up so we are trying desperately to get the muscles in his back, neck and torso to strengthen so he can support himself better.    

We just recently returned from Salt Lake City, Utah seeing a Doctor who specializes in brain mapping.  It is basically a functional EEG to see how the brain is functioning and what parts are affected.  The therapy they have recommended for Mitchell is the LENS therapy, which stands for Low Energy Neurofeedback System.  How does the LENS work?  They believe that the LENS appears to positively impact slow brainwave activity.    They also believe that it works to break up the rigid, self-protective way the brain has of responding after physical or psychological stress or trauma.  There is evidence that during any kind of trauma (physical, infectious, toxic, or emotional) the brain protects itself from seizures and overloads by releasing neurochemicals that protect it from these dangers.  Unfortunately, this protective response also reduces the brain’s overall functional capacity.  Long after the trauma is over and the danger is past, the “protection” may still remain.  The person therefore, becomes stuck in various kinds of disabilities due to this reduced neurological flexibility.  The LENS appears to have an effect in helping to restore the brains natural flexibility.     So we are still very hopeful for Mitchell.  Dr. Ochs who developed the LENS heard of Mitchell’s case and is going to see and treat him while he is in San Diego for a conference.  He is willing to take Mitchell under his wing as a case study.  The hard thing about all this and for many who are trying to treat Mitchell is that he is still undiagnosed so there are no real guarantees of success.  So Brad and I are again faced with praying about this therapy and hoping there will be some kind of improvement or break through.  for Mitchell.  Please pray for us as Mitchell starts his treatments on September 3, 4, and 5^th.     

God Bless and Thank You for all your prayers and support!!  The Thorp Family