The Eric Dolch Children's Encephalitis Foundation is dedicated to raising money and awareness for the proper care and treatment for children with encephalitis while helping to find a cure for encephalitis and other types of epilepsy.
Eric Dolch Children’s Encephalitis Foundation makes a $5,000 donation to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation
The Eric Dolch Children’s Encephalitis Foundation makes a $5,000 donation to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation (NCHCF). In the photo from left to right: Jack and Barbara Nicklaus; Eric’s mom Ava Van de Water; Eric Dolch; President/CEO of Miami Children’s Hospital Dr. M. Narendra Kini, NCHCF president Patty McDonald and Eric’s father Craig Dolch. Photo credit Jim Mandeville.
When Eric Dolch almost died from encephalitis in 2005, his parents airlifted the then-14-year-old West Palm Beach resident to Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH), where he spent more than a year recovering from the near-fatal illness in the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Now 19, Eric is helping other children fight back from life-threatening illnesses. Monday, the Eric Dolch Children’s Encephalitis Foundation (EDCEF) made a $5,000 donation to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. The money is designated to be used for the new Nicklaus Care Centers that MCH is bringing to Palm Beach County to improve the area’s acute pediatric health care.
"We are committed to the aggressive pursuit of finding a cure for encephalitis and in the meantime to improve the proper diagnosing, treatment and care of children and adults with encephalitis and other epilepsy-related illnesses. No child or family should have to go through what Eric has endured."
The Mission of the Eric Dolch Children's Encephalitis Foundation is:
To find the cause of and the cure for children's and adult encephalitis through research.
To improve the quality of life for children and adults with encephalitis and epileptic-related illnesses and their caregivers.
To educate children and adults with encephalitis, their caregivers, healthcare professionals, and the general public about encephalitis and other epileptic-related illnesses and their treatments.
To help hospitals in our community properly diagnose and deal with children's and adult's encephalitis and epilepsy.
To make sure that children in the U.S. get the same quality of medical treatment as adults and senior citizens.
VIDEO OF ERIC TAKING HIS FIRST STEPS IN OVER FIVE YEARS.
TOM DOMINIC'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS HAVE DONATED MORE THAN $4,000 TO THE EDCEF IN MEMORY OF HIS WIFE, TINA
Tina Dominic
Tom Dominic has seen the cruel effects encephalitis can have on a family. He had a brother-in-law, Rocci, who has contracted the disease not once but twice, leaving him legally blind. Tom also has a niece, Stacey, who has suffered from encephalitis for more than a year.
So when Tom’s wife of 42 years, Tina, of Medford, N.J., died suddenly on Aug. 3, Tom knew he wanted to do something other than have his family and friends make the traditional donations.
“I didn’t want a bunch of flowers,” Tom said. “So I asked my daughter-in-law, Maria, to look on the Internet to see if there are any foundations that do encephalitis research. I’ve seen how hard that disease can be on families. Within seconds, Maria, said, ‘Found one.’ "
Maria had found the Eric Dolch Children’s Encephalitis Foundation (EDCEF), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that had been started in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 2006 after Eric contracted encephalitis and was left severely disabled. Dominic’s family and friends have donated more than $4,000, at last count, to EDCEF, in memory of Tina.
KATIE YORK LOST HER FIGHT AGAINST ENCEPHALITIS, BUT HER MEMORY CONTINUES TO INSPIRE A GEORGIA COMMUNITY. Click here for the full story.
ERIC CELEBRATES 19th BIRTHDAY; HAS ANOTHER SURGERY ON HIS ARM
It was an interesting two weeks for Eric, leading up to his 19th birthday on Thursday, May 27.
The surgery he underwent May 13 on his right arm was very difficult on him. Lots of bruising, bleeding and pain. They had to remove the pins from his knuckles early because his skin was stretched so tight, the doctor didn't want to risk Eric losing some of the skin and needing grafts down the road. But Eric showed a lot of improvement when he went back to the hand surgeon this week. We are expecting to get the sutures out next week and Eric will return to physical therapy.
Tina Dominic