Real Life Super Heroes

I will let you in on a little secret...promise not to tell...

My kids are REAL LIFE SUPERHEROES!! Just ask them. Although, they may not tell you the truth because every super hero knows they need to protect their secret identity.

My kids have a song called "Superheroes" that they created together that they sing all of the time. Daily, they talk about having super powers like super strength and super speed. Benjamin refers to his glasses as his x-ray vision goggles that give him the power to see through things.

One day, Kate came home crying because a little boy was mean to her on the playground. She told us all the story while we were driving home from school. My boys, super concerned with justice, were astounded that she was treated so badly. Andrew, with a completely matter of fact and serious tone asked, "Kate, WHY didn't you use your super strength?" To which she immediately replied, tears streaming down her face, "Because I didn't want him to know that I was a super hero." They immediately decided that this boy was a VILLAIN! A VILLAIN I tell you!! (They wondered why Mommy busted out laughing).

In all seriousness though, I truly believe that my boys are real life superheroes. I know that I am biased...we all think that our kids are the coolest (although in my case, it's true :) ). However, my boys have faced insurmountable odds and have again and again proven that they can rise above what is thrown at them. It's not easy. Most of the time it seems downright impossible. But, then, Ben, who has brain damage in the speech centers of his brain, has a conversation with me where he is actively participating. Or, Andrew takes an independent step, and I am once again reminded at how amazing they actually are.

Ben just came up and independently read this blog post over my shoulder. He then said, "Mom, remember that saving people and getting rid of villains is a good thing. I'm going to save one of my friends." This from a kid who wasn't supposed to talk. At the same time, I am listening to Andrew do his daily post-op physical therapy. He created an exercise he has dubbed "Spidermans," which involves movements that pre-SDR he was not able to do at all.

Real Life Superheroes!!

Meet Andrew

Andrew has been through more in his 10 years than most people go through in a lifetime. He and his brother Benjamin were born at 26 weeks as two surviving triplets. Their identical brother AJ passed away shortly after birth.

Mommy and Andrew in the NICU at 1 day old.

The boys' bond has always been extraordinary. Here they are on the day Andrew came home from the hospital at 2 months old. Ben stayed in the NICU for another month.

Because of this prematurity, Andrew has brain damage from a brain bleed and a stroke that led to a Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy diagnosis. He uses a wheelchair and crawls as his main source of mobility. Benjamin also has disabilities related to his prematurity.

The boys have always had an amazing bond. Andrew is in the green shirt. This was their 10th birthday.

As Andrew's parents, we have tried many traditional and non-traditional therapies and surgeries to help Andrew achieve his goal of someday being able to walk unassisted. Many of these therapies are not covered by health insurance. In the past, we have tried Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Conductive Education programs as well as traditional physical therapy and hamstring lengthening procedures. 
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) is the next step in his path to being able to walk. It is a surgery that involves selectively cutting nerves in order to allow his muscles to work correctly. The doctor that we have chosen for this surgery is the worldwide expert. He works out of St. Louis Children's hospital in Missouri. People from all over the world travel to have this doctor operate on their children. He has a tremendous success rate with a VERY low rate of complications. He is who we want operating on our child, especially for a surgery that has the potential for being life altering. Luckily, this doctor has accepted Andrew and we have our surgery date of November 25th, 2014.

Andrew will need intense physical therapy for a year and a half following the procedure. He will need to be in therapy 5 days a week. Insurance only covers a very small portion of these sessions and we do have a copay for each one. Therapy twice a week with his therapist will cost approximately $6,000. We also have a PT student coming to the house 2 days a week to do the prescribed exercises. Being that the surgeon is out of state, we will have travel expenses for both the surgery and the follow-ups and our insurance deductible as well. We are only trying to raise a small portion of the costs so that he can reach his full potential.
Please help us help Andrew to walk.


If you are interested in donating to Andrew's therapy and medical expenses, click on www.youcaring.com/helpandrewwalk .