Tyrone local Eddie Coltabaugh may appear to be a positive healthy little boy, but despite his looks this four year old has already been on an incredible emotional and medical journey.

Eddie was born to parents John and Kate Coltabaugh on April 13th, 2013 at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, PA at only 28 weeks (6 months), not the full term of 40 (9 months).

“We went in for my six month checkup and they whisked us to Danville for delivery. [We] had no idea,” said Kate Coltabaugh, Eddie’s mother.

Born weighing only one pound, 12 ounces, it was later discovered Eddie suffers from a genetic disorder called DiGeorge Syndrome — which is similar to Autism. According to the Mayo Clinic, those with DiGeorge Syndrome could have medical problems such as heart defects, poor immune system function, a cleft palate, and low levels of calcium in the blood.

Eddie is currently nonverbal due to his cleft palette, he needs a feeding tube to eat, and has a heart defect called ASD (atrial septal defect), a hole in between the two upper chambers of the heart.

Due to the cleft palate, and the ASD, Eddie has gone through multiple surgeries. He had several in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) in Danville’s hospital, where Eddie lived for the first three months of his life, and two additional at Danville. He has had four at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and an upcoming one in the winter.

Most of Eddie’s surgeries have been for Fundoplication, a condition that causes liquid to come back into his throat and nasal cannula. Due to the surgery, when Eddie is sick he can’t throw up, even if he needs to. Other surgeries were necessary to insert and replace his feeding tube. Eddie’s most recent and serious operation was open heart surgery in July to close the hole between the two top chambers of his heart. He will also have surgery this winter for his submucous cleft palate, which will hopefully help his speech and eating.

To help defray the costs associated with his treatment, friends of John and Kate Coltabaugh, Laurie Isenberg, and her daughter, Tyrone 2015 graduate, Sarah Isenberg started Eddie’s Angels. Eddie’s Angels originally started in 2013, shortly after Eddie was born, when people from the First English Lutheran Church of Tyrone walked at Faith Day and named their team “Eddie’s Angels.”

Along with his surgeries, Eddie has weekly therapy appointments, and frequent doctor appointments, and all of this can add up very quickly and be very expensive.

 In February of 2015 Eddie got very sick and was life-flighted for the second time. The bill for the life flight was not covered by their insurance so Kate and John had to pay out of pocket.

That’s when Sarah and Laurie decided to try to raise money to cover for a little of the cost. With permission from Kate and John, Sarah and Laurie decided to hold a spaghetti dinner for Eddie in June of 2016, which they called “Eddie Sketty.”

So far the group has raised around $15,000, and with the Eddie Sketty event alone they sold 400 tickets for the dinner. There were 30 raffle baskets donated by families and businesses, and an original “Eddie Sketty” painting was auctioned off by TAMS student and son of Laurie, Jake Isenberg. The most recent fundraiser was over the 2017 summer, when they sold #eddiesketty bracelets and t-shirts.

Through every surgery, appointment, and rough patch, when he is feeling well Eddie has remained a positive, and very happy little boy. When he goes to his therapy appointments in Pittsburgh each week to help him eat, and speak he is always happy to go.

“The community has adopted Eddie and offered up so many prayers and well wishes, it’s been incredible. And I can’t say enough about our church family and what all they have done for Eddie – from fundraisers such as the amazing spaghetti dinner last year and the Eddie’s Angels t- shirts and bracelets sales. There aren’t words to ever show our appreciation,” said Kate.

This year has been a year of new experiences for Eddie. Last year he was in Ms. Chichester’s special-ed K3 class, but this year his parents wanted him to go more mainstream, so he is now in Ms. Miller’s K4 class. Eddie loves school, playgrounds, especially the slide, and has a fascination with water.

Eddie’s recovery has been steady and he has been a very tough boy. Seeing Eddie so happy, social, and fun helps Kate and John stay positive, along with their faith in God. Through the whole process the community and the First English Lutheran Church family has been very kind, and are very helpful to Eddie and his family.

If you are interested in helping Eddie, click the link below to see pictures of him, updates, and even donating: https://www.facebook.com/eddiesangels413/