Many parents I know often speak of how busy they are keeping up with their children's activities. We are in the same boat, except for different activities. Alex has therapies that keep us busy, his therapists give us things to work on at home, as well. We have to work on reading and handwriting at home, which can be time consuming. On Saturday mornings Alex gets tutoring for reading from our very awesome principal at the school. She gives up her Saturday mornings to help children who are struggling to read. There are a lot of mornings when she shows up JUST for Alex. She is truly a blessing. We also have other occupational therapy tasks we work on, such as tying shoes, brushing teeth, and washing hair. We have had people act as if we are insane because our children don't play sports. Alex's pediatric orthopedic recommended that Alex not play sports because of his legs. Apraxia makes the coordination needed for sports very difficult so he just doesn't play. (Even playing a fun game of basketball, etc. with a friend can be emotionally stressful for Alex.) Logan refuses to play sports because his brother can't play.
Alex always asks why Logan can read better than him, why Logan can do things that Alex can't do, and why he has Apraxia. As parents, there are days when it is difficult to watch him struggle. It is difficult to see other children his age thriving while our son struggles to do simple tasks and to be understood. He has therapists and specialists and I know there are days when he just wants to forget about all of that and just have a normal childhood.
THIS is why the Apraxia Walk is SO VERY important! Oklahoma State University has scheduled their first ever Apraxia Walk through CASANA for November 1st. We have encouraged our friends and families to donate money and/or walk with us. The money that you donate or the money you pay to register for this walk goes toward research Apraxia reaserch. It is still a little known neurological disease. Some experts say it is caused by trauma to the brain, but there are Apraxic children who have had no trauma, which leaves many questions. Right now the only way to help Apraxic children is through therapies -- parents pray that as their child grows the therapies will help and they will one day be able to function independently as adults. The donations also go towards treatments for Apraxia.
Alex has come a long way. He still has a long way to go and it saddens my heart to watch it affect him more and more the older he gets. Jacob and I are exhausted most of the time from getting him to appointments and therapies and working with him day in and day out on things -- not to mention the two other children who deserve just as much attention. We worry and we pray that by the time he graduates from high school people will be able to understand him and he will be able to do every task he needs to do -- and do them well -- in order to not only survive, but thrive in the adult world.
We want to have a good sized group of people walking with us to show Alex that he is loved and supported and to show him how special he is. We also have a goal of $5,000 which we would love to reach. We are a little over $1,000 away from reaching it. I am asking all of my friends and family to please donate to this cause that is so important to us or, if you can, please register to walk with us on Nov. 1st and show Alex just how awesome he is. A HUGE thank you to all of you who have registered and/or donated. You guys are awesome and we appreciate your support more than you know! You can click on the link below to donate or register to walk with us.
"Every child deserves a voice!"
http://secure.apraxia-kids.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1114898&team=6011713
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