Boy fights for life after jump-rope accident

I read about this a few days ago and was deeply saddened. When I got home, my wife told me about it and that little Jeremy attends my daughter's preschool. There is a lump in my throat as I type... Please read the article by Barbara Giasone for the O.C. Register (cut and pasted here for convenience)...

(Left: Jeremy Friedrich, 4)

FULLERTON - Donations for medical expenses have been pouring in to a Fullerton bank account for a 4-year-old Fullerton boy who continues to fight for his life after becoming entangled in a jump rope.

Jeremy Friedrich was playing with his sister, Emily, 6, on Nov. 29 when the rope he had tied to a back-yard play set accidently wound around his neck .
 When his father, Mike, found him, he said on his Web site that Jeremy wasn't breathing and his heart had stopped. His mother, Naomi, tried CPR but it wasn't until paramedics arrived on the scene that Jeremy was able to be resuscitated. He was taken to St. Jude Medical Center, and then transported to CHOC, where he is in a coma and periodically breathing on his own, his aunt Rebecca Avila said.


"Mike had been watching the children, and stepped inside the house for a minute only to find a window had broken," Avila said Tuesday. "He stopped to pick up the glass, and then noticed Jeremy."


The Friedrichs posted an update on Jeremy's condition Tuesday on their Web site, caringbridge.org with the link oursuperherojeremy, and asked that people join a unified prayer time today from 5 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. They have also asked that people show additional support by participating in a short time of fasting.

"The doctors are beginning to press us for some critical decisions," Naomi wrote. "So now seems to be the time for all of us, as one body, to turn to the Lord, imploring Him together."


A relative said the decision relates to having a tracheotomy.


Avila said her sister, Naomi, has been telling friends, "If one other parent could be spared from this heartache (by knowing the dangers of jump ropes), that's what's important."


The Friedrichs have been active in Fullerton Pop Warner and Little League, where Mike has coached children for seven years.


Prayers and wishes from those friendships and from strangers across the nation have brought thousands of visits to the Web site for Jeremy.


The Friedrichs have another son, Seth, who suffers from Perthes Disease, which is a rare hip disorder, friend Suzanne Alexander said.


"It's tragic what has happened to this family," Alexander said.


Avila said the family has minimal insurance coverage. Regardless of the outcome, Jeremy could need long-term care.


To help the family, contributions may be mailed to the Jeremy Friedrich Fund, P.O. Box 10151, Fullerton, CA. 92838 or go to any branch of Fullerton Community Bank and deposit directly into the Friedrich Family Fund.