Many of you know our son, Aiden.  He is a smart, loving, goofy 5 year old boy.  He loves the color brown, his baby brother Jack, construction trucks, and all sports.  He is also an incredibly hard worker who faces daily challenges that most of us have never had to think twice about.

At 5 months old, Aiden suffered from a string of serious infections, most notably the flu which led to encephalitis and he ultimately had 10 seizures over the span of about a week.  He spent close to 2 weeks in the children's hospital ICU.  He now has apraxia as a result of the brain damage that he endured.

Apraxia is a neurological condition which impacts motor planning, speech, gross and fine motor, as well as sensory skills.  At age 3 he could say mama, dada, and nana.  He has had 10+ therapies per week since before his first birthday. 

He has made tremendous progress and we are fortunate to have a wonderful team of therapists.  However, he still has a road ahead of him.  He is constantly working on speech, fine motor skills, gross motor (he was also born with club foot but you'd never know!), eating, strengthening his oral muscles, sensory skills, engaging with peers, etc.  

We are raising awareness for apraxia.  Many kids do not have a traumatic event that causes apraxia and unfortunately it is becoming more prevalent.  Looking at our beautiful son, you would never know what he goes through on a daily basis.  How incredibly difficult the smallest movement is for him, that we take for granted.  Let's raise our kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and friends in a world where everyone is accepted and included despite ANY special need that they may have.

All our love,

Ang and Mike