With help, Virginia Beach boy comes back home

VIRGINIA BEACH

One day in mid-January, 7-year-old Jonas Paras came home from school feeling sick. After two days passed with no improvement, his parents took him to the emergency room, where doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia.

They transferred him to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, where doctors attempted to put him on a respirator.

But something went wrong during the procedure, and Jonas went into cardiac arrest, causing brain damage.

The spunky, athletic second-grader is now bedridden and unable to speak.

With Jonas facing little hope of recovery, his parents, Dodge and Jennifer Paras, decided it was time to bring him home, a move that would cost thousands of dollars for medical bills, equipment and supplies.

They asked only for prayers but received a lot more.

In the past two months, Jonas' teachers, coaches and others in the community have raised thousands of dollars for his care through his Web site and through fundraisers, including a Family Night at Chick-fil-A, donation jars at IHOP and Krispy Kreme doughnut sales at recreation league basketball games.

Jonas returned home Thursday, where he has everything he needs, including a hospital bed, feeding tube and custom leg braces.

When the bills start arriving in the next few weeks, the money raised will help lift the burden, Jennifer Paras said.

"The bills haven't started to pile on yet," she said. But "there are certain things that aren't covered by our insurance that the money raised will definitely help with."

Longtime family friend Stella Solorzano and her kickball league are helping with the fundraising, selling professional portraits for $10 and giving all the proceeds to Jonas.

"He's just an amazing little kid," she said. "Even now with him being in the state that he's in, he's just bringing so many people together."

Solorzano has raised more than $1,000 so far, and the league hopes to bring in $5,000 to $10,000, she said.

"I wanted to make sure that they're taken care of so they could focus on Jonas getting better and not have to worry about how they're going to pay for his medicine and how to pay for his wheelchair and all that," Solorzano said.

"I wanted them to be able to concentrate on Jonas."

Even though he can no longer swim, play sports or read his favorite chapter books, it's great having their son home, Jennifer Paras said.

"It's nice that we can hold him whenever we want," she said.

His brothers, 6-year-old Diego and 10-year-old Dodge Jr., are "happy that they don't have to wait for the weekend to see him."

Now Jonas spends his days napping in Batman pajamas, sitting on his father's lap as he watches TV or watching his brothers play nearby.

His parents provide all his care.

"It's a lot of adjusting," Dodge Paras said. "We're doing everything now as opposed to the nurses."

They still hope Jonas will recover, but they're preparing for the possibility that he might not. They'll eventually need to buy a custom wheelchair, a larger car and new leg braces as Jonas grows, Jennifer Paras said.

The doctors "said that his window of hope is very small," she said. "We're still hoping and praying that he's going to get out of this."

The ordeal has been life-changing and overwhelming, Dodge Paras said. But so has the support.

"I'm not sure how many families would have the support that we have. Lots of kids get sick," he said. "Everyone says they can't imagine what we're going through, but what they can do is pray for us and support us - thank you. "

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com