Oliver Michael "Little Tree" Edelen

On March 24, 2013, Oliver Michael "Little Tree" Edelen of Faulkner, MD passed away. He was 11 months old. Oliver lived in Baltimore, MD his entire life, a two-hour ride one way from where the rest of his family lived. For roughly the last 9 months, he lived on the 5th floor, just through the forest, of the University of MD PICU Assisted Living Facility. He suffered cardiac arrest on Saturday, March 23rd. He fought with the help of life support as long as he could, dying Sunday afternoon in the arms of his Mom and Dad. Oliver is survived by his Daddy, Michael; his Mommy, Rhonda; and the best big sister ever, Abby. His family visited him as often as possible at his apartment that was fondly referred to as the most decorated room on the floor. He is also survived by all of his wonderfully caring nurses, child life staff, rehab staff, respiratory therapists, etc. who all seemed to become part of an extended Little Tree family. Without them and the multitudes of doctors who were involved with Oliver's care we would not have had as long a journey as we did and we are forever grateful for the time we did have with Oliver. Even though only half of his heart worked, Oliver never did anything half way. His viewing will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 from 4-6PM at Raymond Funeral Chapel (5636 Washington Ave., La Plata, MD 20646). His service will immediately follow his viewing at 6PM. His burial will be on the family farm at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in honor of Oliver to one of the following organizations: caringbridge.org/visit/littletree (this site helped immensely with keeping everyone informed during our journey with Oliver and is a non-profit organization), The University of MD Child Life Department at https://ummsfoundation.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=325 (They made Abby's visits to the hospital a much more positive experience as well as helping Oliver be as normal as possible with gifts and loaner toys, etc.) or The University MD peds rehab department who made strides with us and Oliver these past few months (They helped us work with Oliver so much. He was able to "stand," overcome his oral aversion, and even got him ready for his feeding test which he passed with flying colors the Friday before his passing. For donations to go directly to the peds rehab department, they can go through Suzanne Boyle, Senior Director of Development for Children's Hospital - her number is 410-328-2391, email sboyle@umm.edu, or you can go to the website at 222.ummsfoundation.org.)

Oliver Michael "Little Tree" Edelen

April 25, 2012 - March 24, 2013