Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Life's Unexpected

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We had a garage sale fundraiser over the weekend to help raise money for Noah's Service Dog costs and hippotherapy. The first day and a half was really slow and we didn't do very well due to the hot temperatures we are experiencing right now. But on our last day we raised enough to be able to pay for Noah's hippotherapy stable fees that are due July 16th. We still will have to pay his weekly therapy costs on top of that, but that will at least save his spot. We were so blessed to have the help of friends and neighbors who kindly donated items for sale to help us. We couldn't have done it without everyone's help.

Noah is also doing fantastic at hippotherapy. And I mean fantastic. This is the third week of therapy. And Noah is able to take toys and dunk them in a basketball hoop on the horse, he is bearing weight on his arms, he has improved head control with the ability to look side to side and even lift his head up with a heavy helmet on, and taps the horse to indicate he wants it to move. Chris and I are in awe of how much this therapy seems to be agreeing with Noah. It's such progress for him. He seems to have bonded well with his horse, Dock. The two of them are making a great team. And I love our therapist. She is incredibly loving and supportive of our Noah. It is so great to connect with professionals that have such hope for Noah's future.

Of course with all good comes some bad; we didn't realize that our sprinkler system was broken and it ran for about 9 hours during the night before we realized we had a problem. This of course resulted in $340.61 in repairs and a $109 water bill... ouch is an understatement. Chris tried to fix it, but we simply had to call someone. I have a feeling we were a little took on the repairs and I was upset to learn that there is no warranty offered on the parts or the labor. I contacted the city regarding our water bill, but if we don't pay it in full there will be a late fee assessed to us. I know it was our fault we didn't know our sprinklers were broken but what a big price to pay for it. Unexpected costs for any family are a challenge but even more so when you're already struggling with a child that has such costly needs.

We also were able to get a way for a little bit to a birthday party for one of Noah's friends down the street. She has some challenges like Noah does, but is just the happiest little June Bug. It was a privilege to be able to share in her special day and celebrate how far she's come. Noah also got to meet lots of new people and he even had a very special first at the party. Noah really wanted his dad's Coke that was in a glass bottle, Chris offered and for the first time ever Noah drank from something other than a baby bottle with ease. I know Coke wasn't the best thing for him, but when you have a child so physically affected you celebrate that he drank Coke! We went out and purchased Noah some natural sparkling water since he seemed to like the fizz and he drank almost 4 ounces out of the bottle at dinner last night. This is huge in our world. And we are so excited that one of Noah's accomplishments was witnessed and celebrated by all at little Julia's birthday party. To be others that accept and understand our challenges was just such a rewarding and loving experience. We all are so happy for each other's kids no matter how small or big their accomplishments are. We know how much these things mean. We never take the little things for granted.

We also got a really unexpected surprise at our door; a Stormtrooper with a gift box filled with help for Noah's service dog and a little beenie Darth Vader. It is precious. The outpouring of love from 501st Legion has been overwhelming. I never imagined there were hearts that big that existed - they love Noah as if he were theirs. That is so rare to find that kind of embracing love. Their help is life changing. And they help lots of children's charities in their community. They are having fun all the while making differences in the lives of others. We all should strive to have hearts that big.

We are planning on another fundraiser event for Noah in July. The owner of Pet Empawrium, in Arvada is hosting a fundraising event for Noah's Service Dog, July 14th. We are so blessed for her help. We also met a representative from Kong Dog Toys at our garage sale who has offered to give Noah a gift basket of Kong Toys to raffle off at the event. We are hoping some of the service dogs from Noelle's Dogs Four Hope will be able to make it, along with Arvada's K-9 Unit, Matzo, his handler and my high school friend Ron and his family. We are so excited for another great day to connect with everyone.

Continued thanks for all that continue to pray for Noah and wish him all the successes in the world. Each day Noah is making small gains and we genuinely appreciate all those that are always in Noah's corner. We are so thrilled we get the chance to report on all the great things that are happening for him.

Love,




Noah's Miracle by Stacy Warden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.