Noah's Wish

Big Announcement!!!!

2009-09-08T14:34:00.002-05:00

Today we, (Noah & I ) Informed Mrs. Ashley Leach that from this day forward we will be donating 5% of everything www.TigerTravelCompany.com and www.MouseDreamsTravel.com makes to Wheels to Succeed! We are so excited about this and our goal is to actually help more children like Noah acquire an adapted bike so they can ride like the wind! Yay! We are so proud to be afilliated with Wheels to Succeed! If you have a vacation in mind please feel free to contact us for information, brochures and/or a quote. Have fun while at the same time helping Wheels to Succeed with their mission.
You can visit Wheels to Succeed at www.WheelsToSucceed.org.

BIG UPDATE!

2009-06-15T19:05:00.003-05:00

For the past 2 weeks Noah Noah has been making his dream of walking someday come to fruition. June 2, 2009 was our very first session of Suit Therapy. It lasts 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks total. It has been very tiring for Noah, but he never complains. He wakes up smiling looking forward to his day. I am so proud of him. The muscles in the thigh part of his legs have grown a whole 2 cm! For those that don't know, 2 cm is about the width of an adult's finger! Noah has also started trying things that he had previously just "written off" as not being doable. I am not looking forward to Friday when therapy comes to an end. This has been a dream come true and seeing the pictures of his progress brings tears to my eyes. His afternoons and weekends consist of serious resting in order for him to keep up with therapy and not pooping out.

So as not to keep anyone in suspense any longer here are some pics Mrs. Ashley snapped for us.-

Thank you Wheels to Succeed!

2009-05-03T11:31:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, Noah had a magical day. He was presented with a beautiful brand new adapted bike by the generous organization "Wheels to Succeed." The event was hosted by Royal Nissan on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

Noah had been counting down the days until he was to receive his bike ever since the day Mrs. Ashley, his PT, informed him that he he would be getting one.
When we arrived at 11:00AM, he could not stop smiling...

Within a few minutes of us arriving, he was fitted and place on his very own bike...

Thank you to every single donor and volunteer involved with and supports "Wheels to Succeed" that made all of these smiles possible!

Noah's story is not finished yet, though.
He could not wait to get home to ride his new bike.

Noah could not stop honking his little tiger horn! It was perfect. He could honk it without a problem and it was his favorite mascot, Mike the tiger of LSU of course!

I just love this pic of Noah...

Geaux Noah! Geaux!

Noah with his favorite person in the world, his MawMaw that he loves more than anything in the world!

Alot of people don't realize that when a child that is disabled gets something that improves their life, they also improve their family's life. Noah and Brady are the very best of friends and love doing things together. Brady is always at Noah's side looking out for his brother. Everyone should have a sibling like Brady that shows Noah unconditional love and understanding.

What does it mean to be a true friend?

2009-03-01T17:23:00.005-06:00

What does it mean to be a true friend? It means going door to door, business to business, church to church asking for donations for donations to help your friend of 4 years have a wish come true.

I have never in 32 years met a better friend than Rickey Paul, Jr. This child is beautiful on the inside and the outside. He is the most unselfish, loving human being that I have ever met. We could ALL learn from him. I aspire to be like him. I wish I had a huge heart like Rickey. He raised $1070.00 for his friend, Noah, so his wish to walk could be realized.

Little Rickey, we love you so much. Noah is the most blessed little boy in the world to have a friend like you. Through all of these years, you have always, cared and stood proudly by Noah's side.

To Erica and Rickey, Sr., I truly believe that our children are our truest reflection. I wish I were more eloquent so I could express all of the love and respect I have for you and your family. We are so blessed to have friends like you all.

It's officially official!!!!

2009-01-13T19:50:00.002-06:00

We informed Mrs. Ashley (Noah's beloved PT) that we would like the morning session from 8:30AM-11:30AM! Woohoo!

We also want to thank God for bringing Ashley into our lives a few years ago. A more genuine, giving & loving person you will not meet.

I also want to thank my brother, Cory and his girlfriend, Heather, whom we just adore. Thank you guys for ALWAYS being there when we need you guys. What you two have given Noah and Brady, money can not buy. We love you two so much. Cory be safe on the road. Noah and Brady rightfully idolize you and love "Heaszer."

Noah's board winners!

2008-12-31T19:47:00.010-06:00

Congrats to Mrs. Sherry David! So far she has won the first quarter! Geaux Mrs. Sherry!

Congrats to Mr. John Comeaux! Yay! You won the second quarter!

Congrats to Mr. Barry Bizette! You won the entire second half! I see a shopping spree in your future!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought and sold squares. Noah's board was filled up within days. The board raised $500 + $125 + $125 for his suit therapy. Mr. John Comeaux donated his winnings to Noah's Therasuit therapy fund in addition to donating privately to Noah! Mrs. Sherry has also donated her winnings to Noah. How awesome is she? ;) Also, her son Chad, Brad's best friend sold three of the winning quarters! Thank you so much Chad. You are a wonderful friend to us. :)

I also want to thank the Laborde family for donating to Noah's suit therapy. May God Bless you all, LeeLee. Mr. Coonie, Taylor, Tiffany & family. You guys have had a nightmare of a year and are in our thoughts and prayers. We send our love to you all.

Marty, Scotty & Debbie- Thank you so much for your donation. We love you three so much. We are praying you get well soon, Scotty!

As the days go by, I plan on posting more info about Noah's therapy so you can all follow along. He will attend the sessions in June, but as I learn more about it, I want to share it with you guys, too. Also, we are going for a Baclofen pump evaluation in March and please pray Noah is big enough to have to pump implanted. Baclofen is a medicine that decreases spasticity (tightness.) It pumps the medicine directly into the spinal column. It would be doubly awesome if the neurologist OK's him for this surgery. He has to have a space big enough between the top of his pelvis and his bottom ribs to be able to accomodate the pump, so send him some growing vibes. He is so tiny, though, lol. He is just barely taller than his 5 year old brother.

2008-12-31T19:21:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Wishing all of Noah's football board participants good luck!
We will post the winners of each quarter post game!

Scott Innes' Hope for the Holidays

2008-12-29T13:27:00.008-06:00

On December 23, Noah attended the Scott Innes' Hope for the Holidays event at the Denham Springs Wal-Mart. The event includes children battling cancer and all types of disabilities. Each child received a $100 Wal-Mart gift card to spend any way they want. Noah opted to buy Nintendo DS games and a Wii game. While shopping, we met Kelly, who was also a participant. She was buying Nintendo DS games too.
Thanks to Scott, Borden, Neighbors Credit Union, WYNK, & Rollin' Homes for making this even possible. The kids all had a blast and there were smiles galore!

Noah & Scooby Doo!

2008-12-24T22:10:00.002-06:00

Generosity...

2008-12-24T21:15:00.008-06:00

After that phone call from Scott Innes, there are a number of people I want to thank publicly...
First- Scott Innes of WYNK 101.5 FM in Baton Rouge, LA. Scott is such a blessing to the people of South Louisiana. I really can not thank him enough for airing Noah's wish on the radio.

Gary Millet, Sr. of Rollin' Homes in Prarieville, LA. Thank you. I feel like there aren't enough Thank you's to express my gratitude to you.

My Aunt Gail, Noah's Godmother- When Brad and I chose you as Noah's Godmother, we knew how much love you had in your heart. We only wanted the best for him, so we chose the best. Thank you Aunt Gail for being the wonderful person you are to Noah and to us. We love you and Uncle Pop so much.

My mom & dad. What would I do without you? You two have ALWAYS been there with us through thick and thin with nothing but UNCONDITIONAL love and support through these years. Who will I be able to lean on when you are gone?

My Mawmaw Lucille. Thank you, I love you.

Mrs. Roberta Averill & her dad, Mr. Bob McBride. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you, Mrs. Roberta. You are such a good friend.

Brad's coworkers- My gosh. You guys can move mountains. LITERALLY. How do I let you all know how darn grateful I am to have people like you all in our life?

Mrs. Cheryl and your brother- I plan on following your lead from now on. Every Christmas I will donate to either a family or a charity instead of exchanging gifts with Brad and ask that my family members to donate to others instead of buying gifts.

Peggy & Donnie Leonard- Thank you so much. We love you!

Brandy St. Romain Miller- A friend of mine for many years. Even though we don't see each other very much anymore, you are often in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you and I love you!

I have also wanted to say thank you to everyone that has sent prayers and positive thoughts our way. They really mean so much to us. Cherie Beard & Amber, it was wonderful to hear from you guys. Hearing from old friends is a gift in itself. (((HUGS)))

Nina, Lester & Mr. Allen- Thank you for your part in helping realize Noah's dream.

To be continued...

A little bit about Noah...

2008-12-24T20:01:00.000-06:00

Ok. Where do I begin??? It has been such a long road...

Noah was born May 28, 1999 11 weeks early after a very difficult pregnancy. He beat the odds from day one. Noah weighed 2 lbs 9 ozs and was the smallest human being I had ever seen in my life. His bottom was so tiny, it was half the width of my palm. His diapers were hardly the size of a panty liner. In my eyes, he was beautiful and perfect in every single way.

He was on the vent for a week which seemed like such a long time because I did not get to hold him until he was extubated. Not getting to hold him for that long was not the hardest part, though. Leaving the hospital without my baby, wondering if he would be alive when I returned, was the hardest part.

Noah's hospital stay lasted a long 7 weeks. His stay was typical and pretty uncomplicated for a baby that early, BUT I always suspected something else was wrong. I would ask the therapists that taught him how to such from a bottle and the neonatologists over and over about cerebral palsy, only to be told that he showed no signs of neurological problems. Part of my suspicions stemmed from mother's intuition, the other part stemmed from my experience as a nurse and growing up with a cousin that has cerebral palsy. Noah cried almost constantly, except when I would hold him. His arms and legs seemed very tight and the slightest things would set him off crying. Lighting, noise, laying on his back... it was all too much for his little raw neurological system.

Time passed, Noah cried, my worries and suspicions grew, and at 9 months old I called my mom, told her we were taking Noah to the pediatrician and getting answers that day! The ped we were seeing at that time was one of those doctors that does not give you his full attention and always had one foot out of the door. I sat there, with a lump in my throat, pulling the doctor back into the room with my questions. He referred us to a physical therapist and within 2 weeks we had a definitive diagnosis of periventricular leukomalacia, aka PVL. (By the way, we have not seen that ped since. We are now with a wonderful ped that I would not trade for the world.) PVL is when the white matter and parts around the ventricles of the brain are damaged. The white matter is where the electrical transmissions occur in your brain and neurological system. The grey matter of your brain is your actual thinking part. Children with PVL are at risk of seizures, varying degrees of learning disabilities and mental disabilities, and developmental delays.

When Noah was first diagnosed, we had hope that he would walk. Oh my, getting him to be able to walk was very important. He received physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy three times a week. I had to quit my job as a nurse so Noah could get the therapy he needed. Eventually though, through the years, I realized that walking really is not that important. My greatest wish was for Noah's wellbeing and for him to be as independant as possible. That has been my goal for the past 8 years. Last summer we found out about suit therapy that was being ofered for the first time where Noah attends therapy and this was also a first in our entire state. There were only 4 openings for children which were filled as soon as the spots were opened so it was completely out of the question for the summer of 2007. The cost of the therapy was $5000 which unlike his regular weekly therapy is not covered by insurance and we did not have the money for it anyways. The only two people that I had told and spoke to about wanting that therapy for Noah was Noah himself and my mom. We had all three wished he could receive it, but it was not meant to be.

A few weeks ago I received a call from Noah's Godmother, my aunt, about a story about a certain type of therapy she had seen on the local news. I knew what story and therapy she had seen and told her that I wished I could afford that therapy for Noah and he had actually wanted to do the therapy, but I hadn't told anyone because I never dreamed I could afford it and hated to ask anyone to help with a fundraiser. (Trust me, it is very difficult to accept help from others when you are used to being independant.) So, in our convcersation she said she would be happy to help me make the therapy happen for Noah. When we hung up, I put it out of my mind until about 2 weeks after that conversation and the phone rang and this happened...