just a few things

After a comment made to Russell on Twitter from someone, I want to make it clear that neither Russ nor I expect anyone to pay for Aidan's care. From day one we have had people ask how they can help or who have generously wanted to donate to help with his expenses. Insurance only covers so much and to give Aidan the best possible care takes money. Russell has a good job now, but it isn't enough to take care of everything for Aidan and for us to live on. When this happened he had just been let go from a contract job that was cut short due to funding. I don't know if even the most financially stable family (short of the small percentage of millionaires) could care for a child with special needs or illness without some sort of fundraising to help along the way.

I'm off my soapbox. For those of you who have been ever so generous and have helped us along the way, we greatly appreciate it. We are so thankful to have wonderfully caring people in our lives.

As promised last week, here are some pictures from our photo session. I think they turned out well. Evan is definitely a little ham!

So, let me step away from the negativity.... Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I'm going to share what I'm thankful for. I try to think of all the things I'm thankful for everyday, not just on Thanksgiving, but well... the day requires it. My grandmother always insisted we have one thing to share that we were thankful for each year.

I'm thankful to be alive, for my family and friends. I'm thankful that I've been blessed with 2 of the most beautiful little boys and I'm thankful (every single moment of every day) that Aidan is still here with us. I'm thankful for the progress that he has made and I hope and pray he continues to improve with time. I'm thankful to be blessed with another baby and can't wait to meet her. I'm thankful for the things that we do have, no matter how we much we struggle to make ends meet to take care of our family. I'm thankful that there are so many people out there that care for Aidan and continue to pray for him and for our family and to those who have helped us financially or otherwise.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. I might stress out, and I might worry about how things are going to get done or how we're going to continue to care for Aidan, but at the end of the day I always try to remember what I do have in my life. God has gotten us this far and has always had an answer, so I'll continue to trust that God will get us through the rest.

I hope that everyone has a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with family and friends and be thankful for what you have.

~Erin

another way to help Aidan

I recently signed up with a program through an online adaptive equipment store. http://www.adaptivemall.com/aidanw.html They have a program where people can donate to a fund to raise money for specific equipment that we'd like to buy for Aidan. It's kind of like purchasing a gift certificate or even a lay-a-way plan. The company holds the funds and keeps track of how much is raised and when there is enough to purchase an item, we'll be alerted and can order the item.

I did this because I know some people would rather donate straight toward purchasing Aidan's equipment, rather than just his expenses in general, and because he's growing so fast and these items are not covered by insurance.

We're wanting to get a stroller for him that will make it easier to take him out to the mall or to the park or just out and about. The wheelchair he has now is great, but it is very heavy and bulky and does not fold up. With me getting bigger by the week with baby #3, it's making it difficult to "man-handle" the wheelchair. Also, with the addition of #3, we're going to be very short of space in our van to transport the wheelchair and the stroller can be folded up and won't take up much room.


The other item that we'd like to get Aidan is a positional chair. He has one now, but is quickly outgrowing it. We use this chair to allow him to sit upright when feeding him and in his hammock swing. The chair comes with an optional base so that Aidan can sit on the floor, otherwise the seat has to be attached to a regular chair, like a dining chair.


You can donate in increments of $25. For those of our family members who have asked me about Christmas gifts for Aidan, this would be a great alternative. It may take us a while to raise enough for both items, but any amount would be great!

Thanks everyone. Love to you all!
~Erin

The Bedlam Benefit "Wager"

The end of the college football regular season is upon us, and with it come the great rivalry games. Among these great rivalries is the Oklahoma State/Oklahoma matchup, also known as "Bedlam". For those who are not in the know, here's a little history, courtesy of Wikipedia:

In 1900, in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) veterinary medicine professor Dr. L.L. Lewis assembled a group of A&M students to participate in the first territorial Track and Field Meet. Held on May 4, 1900, the event included Alva Normal College, Central Normal of Edmond, Kingfisher College and the University of Oklahoma, along with OAMC. The prize of the tournament was a silver cup donated by a local jeweler named Douglas. Surprisingly, A&M won the meet and returned to Stillwater with the traveling trophy.

In 1901, A&M won again, and a third consecutive win would mean permanent retirement of the Douglas Cup in Stillwater. The meet was held on May 23, 1902, with the Aggies amassing the most points. Oklahoma filed a protest based on the pole vault competition not having been completed due to darkness, however, Oklahoma A&M claimed the Douglas cup.

The next day the Sooners held their own vault competition and declared themselves the victor. Several weeks later, the Douglas Cup was missing from its place in a glass case at the Oklahoma A&M chemistry lab. Suspecting that OU students had stolen the Cup, a group of A&M students retrieved the Cup from Norman, supposedly burying it under Old Central for safekeeping.

Ten years later, when excavation was being done for A&M's Gundersen Hall, the trophy was found. Today it resides in OSU's Heritage Hall. [...]

While the football and basketball Bedlam games stand today as the marquee events in the series, the term 'Bedlam', as it refers to this rivalry, has its roots based in the rivalry between the schools' prestigious wrestling programs. Originally named after the atmosphere during a heated wrestling duel between the two schools (a newspaper writer emerged from Gallagher Hall exclaiming "It's bedlam in there!"), [...] The first Bedlam [football] game was held at Island Park in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark. At one moment in the game when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. If the Oklahoma A&M squad recovered the ball it would be a touchback and if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball kept going backwards and rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown, eventually winning the game 75-0. Thus was the beginning of Bedlam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedlam_Series).

Even though the series is one-sided (Oklahoma leads the series 79-16-7), it is considered one of the storied rivalries in college sports.

Now that you have had your history lesson, it's time to explain the "wager":

• You will be picking the winner of the Bedlam football game, which will be this weekend.
• If you accept the wager and you are known to be a fan of Oklahoma, you will automatically be picking them. Same goes if you are a fan of Oklahoma State. If you "ride the fence" or are not a fan of either school, you are welcome to pick either school.
• If Oklahoma State wins, all people who pick Oklahoma will pay $5 and receive a "Pray For Aidan" bracelet. The catch is that you will not have your pick of color; it will be in orange.
• If Oklahoma wins, all those who pick Oklahoma State will pay $5 and receive a brand new "Pray For Aidan" bracelet ... in red.
• The losers will be required to wear this bracelet for a week and show that you are wearing it. Post a photo a day on Facebook or Twitter and it will be satisfactory. What you do with it after that is entirely up to you.

Now, some of you are wondering where I come into play. Of course, I am picking Oklahoma State. If Oklahoma wins, I will not only wear a red bracelet for a week, I will also post a YouTube video of me singing the University of Oklahoma fight song correctly and in its entirety. I may even wear red for the occasion. I'd offer to wear an OU shirt, but you can't find those here in NC and I don't think anyone could/want to get one shipped here fast enough.

If you are interested in participating, send an email to prayforaidan at gmail dot com with "Bedlam Wager" as the subject line. Simply tell me how many wagers you are placing and for which team. Also include your mailing address so I can mail your bracelet to you. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, you can also send me a message that way (on Twitter, make the message look like this and send it as a DM: OU (or OSU) #BedlamWager).

I will accept entries until 11AM Eastern Time on Saturday. Good luck!

Hi

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post something since I haven't in several weeks. We are all doing okay, I guess. Aidan has had some congestion because he has been without one of his medications that really help keep his lungs clear along with his other stuff. We're having to wait for authorization and it's taking forever. Other than that, Aidan is doing well. We've been going to out-patient physical therapy and he seems to be doing well with it. I've seen him trying to hold his head up a little for very, very brief periods of time. We're hoping to start doing E-stim therapy with him with a TENS unit.

The rest of us are doing okay. Evan is his typical self, into everything! He's starting to say more and more words which is great. He's just very independent.

I felt the baby kick and move for the first time yesterday. I felt the boys move much sooner, so it was a relief to finally feel her move. We're still debating names. I like one and Russ likes another. We'll just have to see when she arrives.

We're having pictures made today for Christmas, so I'll post some of those here once I get the disk.

I hope everyone is doing well. Our thoughts and prayers are with the O'Neil family who just lost their mother to cancer earlier this week. We are so sorry for your loss.

More later!

~Erin

Aidan and Evan are going to have......

a baby sister!

My ultrasound appointment was Friday and providing that no little parts were hiding, it's a girl.

Aidan is doing well. He's almost over the pneumonia. He's done with the antibiotics, but it just takes some time to get him back to his usual self. He is still really tired, but hopefully he will start feeling better soon.

There is no school today or tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be happy to go back to school on Wednesday. He really loves it there.

Anyway, I just wanted to post the news for those of you who aren't on Facebook and hadn't heard yet!

Thank you everyone!

~Erin