Walking with Angels

  Grammy was sent out here (being forced to take days off work) and so we got to play for a few days with her and have her here for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation Annual Walkathon. Luckily, she had a camera and allowed us to download the photos she took during her stay with us. Our camera is being fixed, being repaired for some slight damages done during a slip on the rocks in Hawaii.

The walk was last Saturday, May 15th, in West Jordan. There were about 180 participants and 20 “Angels.” It was good to interact with others who are experiencing similar things as we are. It was also exciting to see others we remembered from our first Utah walk a year ago and see the improvements they’d made. Megan had also interacted a little with the planning committee early on so it made us think more about things than just showing up and collecting donations for the Foundation. We were also lucky enough to have a kind sister who volunteered her time and skill to be the official photographer for the event. We also appreciate the generosity shown by those who donated in honor of Evan. It means a lot to us. I don’t want to sound rude and solicit funds from my friends, so don’t feel obligated, but if you have the means and ability to donate, you still can. Just click on the link above and it’ll take you to a donation website.

Some highlights from Saturday:

Evan walked ALMOST the entire mile! He only climbed in the stroller for a small portion of the end. Then we made him get out to walk across the “finish” line.

There was a 14 year old angel who came up and hooked Oliver’s arm. He would have kept going with her, but he also had Evan and was going at Evan’s shorter legged pace.

Ryan kept wanting to play on the playground. There were two playgrounds near the pavilion that we were using, one next to the halfway break point, and several on the second half of the mile walk.

We started in the middle of the group this year, but still ended last and with the same angel we walked last with last year.

Evan was much more interactive this year; being friendly and hugging others and even wrestling with another angel.

We were able to talk to more people and see more of the wide differences this rare syndrome has but also be reminded of the happiness of these children and the joy you can get from knowing them and interacting with them. It was a good day.

To see some more photos by our professional sister, Beth.