Marathons, Friends, Trisomy, and Support

My very good friend Jodi is running in a marathon in honor of our first son, Aidan. As part of the marathon, she has teamed up with a foundation to raise support to raise money and awareness. I know we each have foundations and organizations we support. All I ask is that you read through her support letter and consider being a part of honoring Aidan and supporting an organization that helps families through similar situations.

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In December 2002, my friends Keith and Jessica’s little boy Aidan was born. Sadly, he only lived for 4 ½ hours. His life was shortened because of Trisomy 13, which is also called Patau Syndrome. A trisomy is a genetic disorder/syndrome, chromosome disorder or chromosomal anomaly. A trisomy means an extra chromosome is added to one of the normal pairs that are found in our body’s cells. This extra chromosome causes a pattern of birth defects and medical problems.

And now six years later, Aidan continues to impact my life. He was all I could think about when I started training for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, Virginia on March 22, 2009.

I decided that I wanted this marathon to mean something more. I have teamed up with Noah’s Never Ending Rainbow to raise money and awareness of trisomy and chromosomal conditions as well as a way to honor Aidan.

As a little background, the mission of Noah's Never Ending Rainbow is to educate, advocate, raise public awareness, promote strategic alliances and assist families who have children with Trisomy and related chromosome disorders. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization.

You are receiving this letter because I have a feeling that you too want to be a part of this effort. It is my hope that you will consider donating in honor of Aidan during this race to support Noah’s Never Ending Rainbow as they help families just like my friends, Keith and Jessica.

You can easily donate in two ways. You can write a check to Noah’s Never Ending Rainbow, with the words “Shamrock Marathon” in the memo line. You can also directly call their office at 262.605.3690 to make a donation by credit card.

If you write a check, it can be sent directly to the following address:

Noah's Never Ending Rainbow
7737 6th Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53143

Your donation to Noah's Never Ending Rainbow is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law and you will receive a letter of acknowledgement from them for your generous donation.

I am excited that I can honor Aidan and bring awareness when I run on March 22. I know that Keith and Jessica, along with the two healthy boys they have had since Aidan, will be there when I cross the finish line. I hope you too will be a part of our finish line celebration through your generous donation.

Thank you in advance for your support,

Jodi

P.S. You can check out these websites for more information.

Noah's Never Ending Rainbow: www.noahsneverendingrainbow.org.

Run4aidan blog: http://run4aidan.blogspot.com/

Shamrock Marathon: www.shamrockmarathon.com

Wiggy

A couple months ago, Kory decided to create a friend who he has named Wiggy. Wiggy hasn't made an appearance for a couple months.

On the way to church yesterday, Kory pointed at a brick house and said "Wiggy lives there." Now I know he has never been to that house :)

This was our conversation:

Me: Wiggy lives there? Does Wiggy have toys?

Kory: Yep. He has the same toys that I have.

Me: Have you met his parents?

Kory: No I can't see their faces.

I had to chuckle because Kory has been watching Tom and Jerry. And if you remember, they don't show their faces on the parents or adults.

We'll see when Wiggy appears next :)

Cade

Cade had his 9 month check up yesterday. He continues to be healthy and strong! He is about 22 pounds (79 percentile) and 30 inches (95 percentile). His head size, which I can't remember at the moment, is also in the 95 percentile.

We're also seeing that the laser treatment has started to lighten parts of his birthmark. Interestingly, I've had more people ask about it the last few weeks. Of course. They haven't always been polite.

The lady at the grocery store: "What happened to his face?" To which I replied, "Oh he has a cold." I completely forgot about the birthmark. "No the mark." So I went on to explain. I actually think she was embarrassed for asking when I went into detail.

Then the next week (at the same store), another lady said, "What happened on his face?" I said, "a birthmark." She said "Oh I thought maybe it was a burn or a rash."

Maybe I need to find another grocery store :) LOL

His next laser treatment is on March 2, so we continue to pray for peace during the procedure (which is considered an inpatient surgery). And also for fast results!