On Saturday, May 8th at the Middletown Church of God there will be an event that includes a chicken barbeque, a car wash, a flea market, a Corn Hole Tournament, and music by the band “Driving Vegas”. All of the proceeds will be going to Aaron’s Journey.

The car wash, food stand, and flea market will kick off at 9:00 a.m. The Chicken Barbeque and Corn Hole Tournament will start at 10:00 a.m. Registration for the tournament will be $10 for a team of two. Tickets for the chicken barbeque are $7, which includes 1/2 chicken, baked potato, and applesauce, and are on sale now by calling the church office at 944-9608 (corrected!). You can rent a flea market table for $15.00 or bring your donated items to the church and they will sell it for you with all of the proceeds going to Aaron’s Journey. The band will start playing at 11 a.m.

Baked good are needed to be sold at the event. Anyone wishing to donate baked goods can drop them off at the church starting at 8:00 am.

If you would like to donate items to be sold at the Flea Market, your donations may be dropped off at the church office on Wednesdays from 5:45 to 7:30 PM or Sundays from 8:00 AM to noon. Items may also be dropped off at the church office garage Monday through Friday, from 8:15 AM to 4:00 PM. (Please try to avoid lunch time, however, as there may be nobody there to assist you.)

Location: Middletown Church of God, 235 W High St, Middletown, PA
Contact: If you have any questions, please contact Jill Habig at 717-566-2646. To purchase a chicken barbeque ticket or a flea market table, please call the church at 717-944-9608.

Hello Everyone. I know we always say this but… sorry it’s been soooo long since we have given an update.

We went to Philadelphia today so Aaron could get an x-ray of his neck. He was having quite a bit of pain in his neck last week and his physician at Kennedy wanted his neurologist to check it out and confirm that he is able to participate in rehab in May. We got the results almost immediately today. His neck has healed nicely and his pain is not from loose hardware or any areas that might not have healed. Because the pain is intermittment (he can go weeks without pain), we believe that it is probably caused by certain positions or not changing position often enough. We will be keeping a close eye on that as Aaron seems a bit resistent to pain meds and can’t get much relief when it comes.

We are very excited about getting back to rehab at Kennedy Kreiger beginning May 3rd. Aaron will be there for 2 weeks and hopes to get in the pool this time. We have been stimming his muscles faithfully since his last visit to Kennedy and have high hopes that he will make even greater progress than his last visit. Since his last visit he has been able to move his thumbs, most of his fingers, turn his feet inward when lying down, and move his right knee inward when seated. These are all small movements and he can’t do it with 100% consistency yet, but they are assuredly intentional movement.

Aaron has to work long and hard to get a little gain, so please continue to pray for and encourage him. It really is important and means so much to all of us. 🙂

For the month of April, 15% of all Pampered Chef purchases made through Tasha Cochran will be donated to Aaron’s Journey. To make your purchases you can either contact Tasha or shop online (see details below). If you don’t need any Pampered Chef items for yourself but would still like to participate in this fundraiser, you may purchase items to be included in a raffle (stay tuned for more details on the raffle). If you purchase for the raffle online, please let Tasha know so that when it arrives she can add it to the raffle items. All of the commission that Tasha makes on these purchases will be used to purchase Pampered Chef “favorites” that will be added to the items to be raffled. All money and orders are due by April 30th, 2010.

To order online, go to www.pamperedchef.biz/tasha05. Select “Shop online” at the top of the website. Type “Aaron’s Journey” where it asks for Host/Organization.

For questions, catalogs, or to order directly from Tasha you can call her at 717-982-1685, or email her at tacochran5@yahoo.com.

Want to buy more, but the wallet says “Not Today”? Book a catalog show or home cooking show of your own to be held within the next 6 months and Aaron will get $10 for your booking and you will earn free and discounted product.

Here is some additional information on a few Pampered Chef specials:
Mother’s Day Specials
Free Microfiber Towel

The Golf Benefit has been rescheduled…

On August 14th a benefit will be held at the Par Line Golf Course in Elizabethtown, with the proceeds going to Aaron’s Journey. In addition to a round of golf, this event includes a steak dinner, a 50/50 raffle, “Flight Prizes,” and “Pot Of Gold.” To be honest, I’m not sure what all of that means, but the avid golfers out there probably will and it certainly sounds interesting, so hold the date. Tee time is 1:00 p.m. and you’ll be playing in groups of four. If you are a single golfer they will happily pair you with a group of four.

I remember when this golf course was just a muddy field back in the early 80’s because I lived just around the corner from it when it was being built. I’m sure the trees have grown quite a bit since then. Here’s the layout of the course:

Par Line Golf Course layout

• Registration Form for participants
• Donation Form for sponsors

If you have questions or have trouble opening the forms, please contact Ann at 717-379-8915 or email awenders@gmail.com, or Pete at 717-367-2482 or email pndsnyder@embarqmail.com

……..well HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!

Showing my age with some lyrics from an old Beatles’s song. That’s right, today is Aaron’s birthday. He wanted to keep it low key so just a few visits from friends and family.
Aaron we love you and know that the coming year holds more amazing steps as you continue your journey. We thank God for your recovery so far and trust Him for what is yet to come.

Please join us as we continue to pray for God’s healing touch in Aaron’s life.

Greetings All,

Sorry for the long time between posts. I could make up some lame excuses but they would be just that …. lame , so I won’t bother.

The countdown (37 days) continues until we return to Kennedy Krieger. Aaron continues his rehab at home as well as at Hershey in preparation. As a result he is as strong physically as he has been since August. Aaron’s breathing also gets stronger each day. The ventilator and trach seem like such a long time ago. It is hard to believe that it has only been 7 weeks since they were “tossed to the weeds.”

Aaron and I have been following the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, although neither one of us see the second half of the late games. We’re a couple of light weights. 🙂 My bracket is shot as I had Kansas winning it all. Aaron is doing a little better. He has Duke winning it all which will make his Pappaw Wood happy. 🙂

Finally we want to thank Judy Roberts & Tim Strube for organizing the Basket Bingo fundraiser. Also thanks to all who helped including the Elizabethtown boys basketball family, past and present. Gina and I were unable to attend but the 3Ds (Aaron’s mom Diane, Aunt Den, & Aunt Deb), Mamaw Wood,  Aunt Barb & Aunt Diane, and his sister Alexis were there. They as well as everyone else that we talked to who attended had nothing but rave reviews. It was well organized and everyone had lots of fun.

Yesterday and today Aaron had physical therapy at Hershey Med. Ctr.  Gina took him yesterday, I took him today.   He was in the stander yesterday, had a little bit of difficulty keeping his blood pressure up; but overall it was a good session.  He did discover yesterday that when he has a really strong muscle spasm, one that makes his hands stand up, he is able to move his index finger…..on both hands!    Awesome stuff!  (Today, during a spasm, he was able to move his middle finger on one of his hands as well.  Only saw that once, so we’ll keep looking for that!!)

Today at physical therapy Aaron didn’t get to stand up in the stander;  but that’s OK, because he experienced something very exciting and encouraging….he was lying on his back on a mat and the therapist was having him try to move different muscles in his legs and feet and he was able to move both of his feet outward toward the walls, then back in again.   A couple of times!   The therapist was impressed;  I (and his Aunt Deb who joined us today) was overwhelmed with excitement and emotion and even Aaron let go over some of his reservation and was excited!     (Aaron is afraid to be overly optomistic, so to get him to say he’s excited ,or to show it, is a major undertaking.   But it happened today!)

Aaron continues to work hard on his therapy and we are seeing the fruits of his efforts.    These movements he’s been experiencing really fuel his desire to work even harder.  Please continue to pray for him and stay tuned to the blog for further updates on his progress!    With our prayers and Aaron’s determination, great things have happened and will continue to do so!

I had hoped Aaron might let his “faithful readers” know this, but he hasn’t.  Aaron, I hope you don’t mind me giving this information, but I feel it’s become necessary in that people are still making reference (understandably) to Jaime and Tory.   Aaron and Jaime are no longer together.   Some of you may have figured this out due to pictures of Jaime being removed from those that appear across the top of the blog page. 

So now Aaron is moving on (and doing very well at that, I might add).  He can now focus harder on “rehabbing” and gettting stronger.  All things happen for a reason….and it’s not for us to understand!   Enough said.

What a fantastic week! It was everything we who were there with Aaron (Woody, Gina, Diane, & Denise) were hoping for and more. Aaron was surrounded with so much hope, energy, and positive attitudes from everyone he was in contact with this week; it was truly refreshing and energizing for all of us. His therapists, Kristen and Erin are obviously well qualified and take Aaron and his goal to someday walk very seriously. We didn’t have to listen to any speeches about the high level of Aaron’s injury and never heard the words can’t or won’t. Aaron worked very hard for 5 hours every day and can’t wait to get back there for 2 weeks beginning May 3rd. We were all very pleased to meet Dr. John McDonald (see pic below), the director of the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger. He stopped and talked with Aaron a few times during the week and talked with him about his progress, both present and what he believes he can accomplish in the future. He also took time to work with Aaron on moving his hands and fingers. Much of the week was spent using electrical stimulation on various muscle groups, riding the bike using E-Stim, and standing up in the stander/glider. By the end of the week he was able to move the “arm skate” (in the video on a previous blog) with his triceps and biceps on his own without E-stim! Yesterday he showed us how he can move his left thumb and today he was moving his right thumb. Not big sweeping movements, but definately controlled movement! We will be getting an E-stim unit for use at home soon, eventually a stander, and then a stim bike so that Aaron can work hard every day, not just at Kennedy. 🙂

There were 3 little girls  at rehab all week that  had a princess party on Friday and Aaron was invited;  he got a necklace and we got to eat some cupcakes (see pic below). 🙂 I’m guessing  that they were aged 2 to 4 and it was just amazing how focused and hard working they were. They really touched our hearts. 🙂

We arrived home on Friday evening, all of us pretty well beat! Thanks again Diane for staying the night so we could sleep. Only one nights rest and you were on night duty again. You’re a sweetheart! 🙂

working on biceps & triceps video

The above video is fairly large and will take a minute or two to load.

Here are a few pictures of Aaron’s day at Kennedy Krieger on Monday and the Friday before at home. Aaron is having a great week at Kennedy. They are as aggressive as we had hoped and Aaron is working hard. They have been using Electrical Stimulation on his muscles to make him move and to re-teach his body that it can move by stimulating peripheral nerve responses. His therapists as well as Dr. McDonald (the director at Kennedy) told Aaron that his response to E-stim is classic textbook, and if they were going to grade his response to it, it would be an A+!!!! Hopefully we will have some more pics soon!

Woody & Aaron at home

With Kitty B

Aaron & Kristen

Aaron, Erin (behind Aaron), Amy (teal shirt), Rachel (white shirt)

SKATE VIDEO

You can click on the above link to watch video of Aaron. The video is sideways, but I can’t figure out how to fix it yet. It’s still fun to watch. Aaron’s arm is moving with the “skate” with the help of E-Stim. When he did it the first time he lifted the entire skate off the table, hence the 5 lb weight on top of his arm in this video. 🙂

Aaron, Gina, & I will be heading to Baltimore on Sunday for Aaron’s much anticipated week of rehab at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Gina has secured an apartment for us for the week 2 blocks off the harbor. Diane will be coming to Kennedy for a few days mid week and Gina and I will return for weeks end and the trip home. Aaron has been looking forward to this week for some time as he has not had any extensive therapy since Magee until his recent visits to Hershey to prep for Kennedy Krieger.

As we prepare to leave I can’t help but think of how far Aaron has come and of all of the people that have been so helpful, caring, & loving. We have tried to thank everyone along the way. It would be impossible to list everyone, you know who you are, and I don’t want to offend anyone by missing them so I won’t try. I do want to thank Gina’s cousin Chuck from Montana and her brother Curt & Irene from Colorado for the recent care packages filled with numerous goodies. Also thanks for the many yummy meals that we have received since Aaron has come home. Again you know who you are. A big thank you to Uncle Pete for organizing a project to reproduce some of the equipment that Aaron has used at Magee to aid him in his rehab at home. Thanks to Ralph Claire and Rooster’s Wood Shop at the Masonic Homes. Pictured below are George Jacobs & Al Wenrich, just two of several men that helped out.

As many of you know Aaron had his trach removed several weeks ago and has had no issues since. On the night that it was removed Woody’s JV basketball team wore Aaron’s Journey t-shirts instead of their regular shooting shirts for their game vs. Garden Spot. Pictured below are several of his players & fellow coaches who helped with a fall project doing yard work around the Wood’s home. They also participated in the bike, walk, run fundraiser in October.

Thanks again to all of you for your support and prayers. We couldn’t have gotten to this point without you!

A few of you have contacted me to find out what happened to the fundraiser that was to be held at Ski Roundtop.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, we had to cancel it.  It was sort of arranged last minute and there were details that needed to be worked out with Ski Roundtop which just didn’t seem to happen.  This fund raiser was being organized by a friend of mine at work and try as hard as he could, he just couldn’t get things worked out.  Sorry to anybody who was interested in attending.  As soon as I knew this was being canceled, we had the info removed from the blog, but I didn’t get a chance to let everybody know what happened until today.  So sorry!   Please continue to check Aaron’s blog for another fundraiser you might want to participate in!    We appreciate your interest in attending any of Aaron’s fundraisers!

Aaron had physical therapy on Friday at Hershey Med. Ctr., which went very well.   They stood him up in the standing machine again.  The first time they put him up, his face got a little gray and he felt a bit nauseous, so they sat him back down.  We applied some cold compresses, waited a little bit and tried putting him up again.  This time it went very well.  He was able to tolerate standing up and did so for several minutes.  The therapist then moved him to a mat and we sat him up on the edge of the mat.   She positioned his arms out behind him on the mat, so that he was putting some of his weight on them.  She then had him rock from side to side using the muscles he has control of, in his shoulders and upper arms.  He accomplished it with no problem.  In fact, she was able to let go of him, and with no support, he could sit up and rock from left to right.  I was very impressed with my boy!  So, we continue with PT and hope that when we get to Kennedy-Krieger in the first week of March that he is stronger and able to take whatever they throw his way! 

I’m not sure if Aaron will want to post any details on the blog about his weekend or not, but I’ll just tell you a little bit about it!

Aaron spent the weekend with Jaime and Tory at Jaime’s parent’s house in Malvern.  I drove him there Saturday and picked him up Sunday.  Of course, it’s never enough time, but he really seemed to enjoy himself, as he always does when he’s with his ladies (which doesn’t include me, of course, I was merely the chauffeur).   

God was with us this weekend, because after Sam (my husband) and I dropped Aaron off in Elizabethtown Sunday night, we headed for home and a few miles into the drive, our transmission went out!  I am just so grateful that didn’t happen with Aaron in the van!    Thanks to Aaron’s dad, Greg (a.k.a Woody), who came to our rescue and drove us home to Hummelstown. 

I also want to mention the wonderful fundraiser held for Aaron at the Middletown Moose on Saturday night.  It ran so smoothly, everybody seemed to have a nice time.  Thank you to everyone involved in setting it up and also to everybody who attended.  It is so heartwarming to see so many people show up to support my son.  It makes me proud to know that he is loved by so many people!

OK, Aaron, if you want to give us any more details about your weekend with Jaime, I am SURE people would like to hear about it.  The ball’s in your court!

Starting in February, USA Optical will be holding a raffle at three of its locations every month for the next four months to raise funds for Aaron’s Journey. For a simple $2.00 donation, each person will receive a chance to win an eyeglass frame valued up to $150. The winner can upgrade to a more expensive frame by simply paying the difference over $150. Winners will be drawn by the 7th of each month and notified by phone.

USA Optical is locally owned and operated and has been in business for over 25 years.
Here are the three participating stores:

• East York: York Market Place/ Beside Red Lobster
  2553 East Market Street
  York, PA 17402
  Phone: (717) 757-5632

• West York: West Manchester Mall/ Across from Gamestop
  1800 Loucks Rd. Suite 653 York, PA 17408
  Phone: (717) 764-8705

• USA Eyewear at the Harrisburg East Mall/ 1st Floor Beside CHAMPS
  3201 Paxton Street
  Harrisburg, PA 17111
  Phone: (717) 561-6000

Hi everyone!

Not too much to report, just wanted to check in!

Hope everyone enjoyed the snow and Super Bowl  I got to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday with Jaime and Tory, which is better than any game!  We then got to spend all day Monday together, which was awesome!  The best, no offense Jaime, was having Tory planted in my lap, for what seemed most the day, and watching her play in the snow!  I am truly a lucky man – there’s no doubt about!!  I love them both so much!

Anyway, hope you’re doing well…And enjoy the second round of snow!  🙂

Aaron

On March 20th a “Basket Bingo” fundraiser will be held at the Elizabethtown American Legion. The $20 ticket price will get you 20 three-card games, and at least one of those games will be a “blackout.” You can buy additional three-card strips for $5 each. The doors will open at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and the bingo will start at 1:00. There will be lots of good food for sale including barbeque, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken corn soup, chips, soda, and more. All of the proceeds from the sale of the tickets and the food and drinks will go to Aaron’s Journey. There will be 125 tickets for sale and all tickets must be purchased in advance.

So what is “basket bingo?” Simply put, the prize for each bingo winner is a Longaberger basket…nice! There will also be raffles for three larger baskets, plus there will be door prizes and a 50/50 auction.

To purchase tickets you will need to call Judy Roberts at 717-367-1110. Also, if you are interested in donating items for raffles or door prizes, or are interested in sponsoring a basket, please give Judy a call.

Good afternoon!

I have a huge yet simple request, and I would GREATLY appreciate your help!

My cousins, Erin and Nate, had a beautiful baby boy (Ben) on Jan. 10th!  Unfortunately he was born with some issues, which leaves many questions and even more stress and concern for my family.

Also, Erin’s Grandma Keyser recently suffered a heart attack.  Last I knew, she wa s stable b ut still hospitalized. 

Needless to say, they could use  some prayers and good thoughts sent their way.  You’ve all been such a big help to me, I figured maybe you’d take an extra minute to pray for them as well.  It would be truly awesome!

THANK YOU,

Aaron

ENOUGH SAID!

What a day!  Aaron and his dad and step-mom (Greg and Gina for those of you who might not know names) arrived at Lancaster General Hospital at 10:00 AM today for the trach removal.  They waited and waited and then found out that the doctor wasn’t going to get to the hospital until after his office hours.   Greg had to leave around 1:00 or 2:00 to go to work; Gina and Aaron just stuck around and waited and waited some more.  Aaron’s Aunt Den and I got to the hospital around 2:30 and we ALL continued to wait.  Finally around 5:00 or so, the doctor showed up, explained what he was going to do, and did it!  Aaron had his trach removed, sitting in his wheelchair, while the three of us watched.  It happened so quickly, it was amazing. The doctors decided not to insert a smaller trach, but  to just remove it and observe  him overnight.  So that’s what was done.  Aaron now has a small hole, about the size of the tip of my little finger, where the trach was.   No stitches needed, just a bandage over the hole which will just close eventually.  Aaron did want a picture of the trach to put on the blog, we’ll see what happens with that!  Stay tuned! 

His spirits were especially high tonight.  He has waited for this day for some time.  There were some people along the way who told him he might not be able to go without using the ventilator at night and also those who thought he may have to keep the trach.  As long as tonight goes well, he’ll have proven them wrong.  AND I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

Well, that’s about it for now.   Things are looking up for Aaron and are going to continue to do so, I just feel it.  Please continue to pray for him and his recovery.  Thanks for sharing in his journey!

Diane (Aaron’s mom)