Walk for Aidan 2012

Merrit has made a great friend here. His name is Aidan. The two of them hit it off like two peas in a pod from day one. Aidan and his little brother (who's Ollie's age) have come to play at our house many times. Here's a pic of the four boys on our way home from school a few weeks ago:

That's Aidan's little brother with the hat and holster! Ollie leads the way,
and Merrit and Aidan keep pace with each other. Aidan is not in a wheelchair,
but he does use this scooter for longer walks (like from the school to our
house) to conserve energy and keep him from overexerting himself.

Yesterday we went to the fifth annual Walk for Aidan. From the "Walk for Aidan" Facebook page:

Walk for Aidan is a student facilitated, community building event. It was inspired by Aidan Leffler, the lovable eight-year-old son of Mitch and Mindy Leffler, who was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) in 2006. DMD is the most common fatal genetic disorder to affect children worldwide. Children with DMD cannot produce dystrophin, a protein necessary for muscle strength and function. As a result, every skeletal muscle in the body deteriorates restricting children to a wheelchair between 10-12 years old. Children with DMD generally do not live beyond their late teens or early twenties. The disease is 100% fatal and there is currently no cure. However, for the first time in history researchers believe that they can find a cure within our lifetime. Our challenge is to race to find it within Aidan’s.

The Walk for Aidan is a fundraiser to help aid the Lefflers with Aidan's many medical expenses such as a wheelchair, a wheelchair accessible house and van, therapy, medicine, and various other bills. The event will also be raising money for Charley's Fund, the only non-profit organization that is dedicated exclusively to finding a cure for DMD within Aidan's lifetime. With very little federal funding and support, parents trying to save their children’s lives have contributed the vast majority of money raised for research. It is up to us to help.

We hope that lots of money was raised yesterday! We know that we sure had fun at the event...and we were super impressed that the whole thing is planned and pulled off by high school students. Check out some of the pictures we took from the day:

It was $10.00 to get in per person, and everyone got a free T-shirt, screenprinted
by the high school's art students. How cool is that?

Merrit and another kid from his class walking over to see
Aidan. 

Chasing the big red ball. Merrit was TIRED OUT after about
15 minutes of this!

Some high school students were dressed up as super heros: Captain America,
Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor. Ollie wanted to get close to Iron Man, but
was sort of timid.

Ollie stalking Iron Man at the carnival games station.

Chilling out as we listen to a musician covering a Bob Marley song.

Part of the event included a stage with live music from 3pm to 7pm.
Great tunes.