7 YEARS OLD

Jadon’s diagnosis ripped our dreams up into tiny little pieces and tossed them to the wind.  SMA took our dreams and left us to hope for things that were merely expectations prior to those 3 letters entering our lives.

We have dreamed about milestones like living to be six months old, a year, and then two years.  Beyond 2 years was categorized as miracle territory.  Only 10% of kids diagnosed with the #1 genetic killer live to celebrate their second birthday.  While we wished for a miracle we prepared ourselves for disappointment as the odds were so heavily stacked against him.

With our dreams being reduced to such short sightedness you can imagine our surprised joy when discussions began about Jadon attending school.  Jadon was thriving and we started to dream again.  We allowed ourselves to dream about something we had truly given up on.

With that dream came a new worry.  We spent his first 3 years worrying the gravest of worries, but this one was new.

Jadon is different from other kids and his differences are somewhat less than subtle.  We worried how he would he be viewed by the outside world?  Would he make friends?  Would he be bullied?  Could he possibly be accepted?

All we ever prayed for was acceptance, but we have gotten so much more.

We have been blessed beyond recognition.  I truly hope our family is not even recognized as a family with a terminally ill child because he is living life to the fullest.

Jadon has not simply been accepted but truly valued.  The kids genuinely love him and that awesomeness brings tears to our eyes.

One day this spring Mrs Green read a book to Jadon’s first grade class about how everyone is good at something.  After reading the book the kids did an exercise where they paired up and told their partner something they are good at.  Being Jadon’s voice I struggled to come up with something these young minds would understand.  Most of the kids spoke of activities such as soccer, baseball, baking, or singing.

I settled on “Jadon is good at making others happy.”

To my surprise this brought the BIGGEST smile to his partners face.  With the most incredible enthusiasm she exclaimed “I KNOW!  EVERYONE wants to be around Jadon.”  Daddy had a little moment right there in class because she made me realize it really is true.  Kids fought to be Jadon’s partner all year long.  Rarely does someone walk by us in the hall and not say “Hi Jadon” or at least give a silent finger wave.  Kids are doing fundraisers in honor of Jadon.  They do class projects about SMA.  They have not simply accepted him but embraced him for all that he is.

Jadon turned 7 years old today and we have no idea what the future holds.  We will continue to take each day as it comes and only allow ourselves to look just so far into the future.  What we do know is that our son has been blessed by some amazing people: teachers, administrators, students, classmates, teammates, neighbors and strangers… all of them now friends.

Happy Birthday Jadon!  You are truly loved.

Pictures from The BUG RUN 2016

For more pictures of this amazing day visit the facebook page of our amazing photographer Shauna Renee Photography – CLICK HERE

 

2 More Sleeps Until The BUG RUN

We have been following Katie Horner’s Mission over the past several months ( Woman on a Mission) and it is all about to come to a conclusion.  It has been an emotional journey to see her work so hard and reach her goals while constantly thinking of others. Her objectives are just two days from being completed.

COMPLETE –  Raise enough money for all the students at Rolling Ridge to run The BUG RUN.

COMPLETE – Run The Boston Marathon.

REMAINING – RunThe BUG RUN and show ALL 485 students at Rolling Ridge what it means to run for a cause…”RUN to end SMA.”

This is an update from Katie today:

“2 more sleeps” as my son Hunter, who is the same age as Jadon and share the birthday month of June together, would say until the 4th Annual Jadon’s Hope Bug Run!

Today, like many days, was another day at Rolling Ridge where excitement filled the air! Our students received their race shirts and bibs. On top of that excitement, we decided to have an all school picture. So, with about 480 kids plus numerous staff members, we all went out to the playground first thing this morning to smile in the sun as a community! A community that shows compassion, spreads awareness of SMA, stands together, works together towards many common goals, and supports one another! We are truly blessed and could not have done that without the support from this campaign and the support of the entire staff at Rolling Ridge pulling together to make this happen.

I leave you with some quotes that were heard from our students at various times today. Some of which I heard and others that were passed on to me.

“Hold up, we get our OWN number?!?!”

“My number is 246 or maybe it was 146, I don’t know, but either way I have a number!”

“You have the same shirt on that I do…(long pause), wait we all have the same shirt!”

“Mrs. Horner, I am running for Charlie, who are you running for? Are you running for a Warrior or an Angel? I hope they find a cure so there are no more angels.”

Together, WE RUN TO END SMA!

The Fabulous Miss G, Forever In Our Hearts

Whenever we suffer a loss in our SMA family, it is hard.  And each one has its own affect on us.  We reside in a world that we wish with every fiber of our being didn’t exist.  A world where little ones become angels far too soon and parents have to say good-bye to their precious babies.  But this one, this one just crushed us.  Gwendolyn is very special to us as are Bill, Victoria and little sis, Eleanora.  Over the years and despite the many miles that separate us, an amazing bond, connection, friendship has grown.  We have celebrated with each other, worried and cried with each other, laughed with each other, lifted each other up, helped each other out and leaned on each other.  We have just been there for each other.

And Jadon and Gwendolyn?  Well, they were boyfriend and girlfriend.  Whenever Bug saw a picture of Miss G his eyes would get as big as saucers, he would purse his little lips and get major “happy belly.”  And when Miss G saw Jadon, she would bat those gorgeous long lashes and tap, tap, tap her finger.  He was her blue-eyed boyfriend and she was his fabulous Miss G.  Everywhere you look in Jadon’s bedroom, there is something from Gwendolyn.  Multiple pics that adorn his shelves.  The turtle she gave him years ago that to this day he insists is turned on at night.  The blanket that he loves to have his feet snuggled up in.  Valentine’s Day cards she made him.  Treasures she picked out for him during trips to Disney.  Pout-Pout Fish books.  Tickle Monster book.  She is there.

Whenever we would go out on adventures and Jadon got a souvenir, he insisted that Miss G would get one too.  Always something blue for him.  Purple for her.  Early in their “courtship”, Jadon found out that a little boy had given Miss G a flower while at a playground.  That simply wouldn’t do and he made sure Miss G had an even bigger purple flower from him.

To profess his love for Miss G, Jadon even got a little ink.

And it worked!

Earlier this year, I was blessed to be able to spend some time with Bill, Victoria, Gwendolyn and Eleanora when I traveled out to California for business.  It was magical – a moment when you hoped time would just stand still.  And as the sun began to set and night fell, I didn’t want the evening to end.  I wanted to soak up every second because I didn’t know the next time we would see each other again.  When we finally had to say our good-byes, I raced to my room to call Tony.  I told him we HAD to figure out a way for all of us to get together.  For Jadon and Gwendolyn to meet.  Unfortunately, that never happened.  Just one more thing SMA has robbed from our kiddos.

When Bill called early Saturday morning, our hearts shattered into a million pieces.  The wind knocked out of us.  How could this be possible?  My knees buckled as I crumbled into a heap onto the floor.  This is NOT supposed to be happening.  It simply wasn’t fair.

Ever since Jadon was little, he would randomly look into the corners of the room and jabber/chat.  We firmly believe he is talking to his angels watching over him.  Throughout the rest of the day on Saturday, we struggled with how to tell Jadon about his fabulous Miss G.  We desperately fought off tears anytime we were face-to-face with him.  As we got him settled in his room to begin nighttime treatments, we finally mustered up enough courage.  We told him we had some very sad news to share.  He looked at us very seriously and with his eyes said “Yes.”  We said, it’s about Miss G.  Again “Yes.”  We asked him, do you already know?  This time BIG, BIG “Yes.”  We asked, have you been talking to Miss G?  Another BIG, BIG “Yes.”  He had been chatting earlier in his room during his chill-time.  We should have known he already had a very special visitor come by to let him know she was okay and would be watching over him.  Even now these two have an incredible bond that will always be there.  We take some comfort knowing that the fabulous Miss G is continuing to watch over him and be with him.  

The world was a better place with Gwendolyn Strong in it.

The world is a better place because she lived.

We are better because of Gwendolyn’s life and we will always carry a part of Miss G  with us.

We will Never Give Up.

We are… G-STRONG.

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When Your Legs Get Tired, Run With Your Heart

 Amy Vrban & Kristin Burks

WRITTEN BY AMY VRBAN
Race Director – Jadon’s Hope BUG RUN

I have greatly enjoyed seeing everyone’s pictures from the Bug Run yesterday! It helps me see all I miss and see the enjoyment that was truly had at this event! I was overcome with great emotion at several moments. Moments I could talk about all day, moments I will never forget, and some so powerful no words are required.

SMA. I never knew how much those 3 little letters would impact a life. In return the impact that life would have on an entire community. Jadon. I was asked 4 times yesterday why I think Jadon has surpassed life expectancy. I don’t have the answer. Certainly not medically. What I see is a beautiful child who teaches us to love one another, encourages us to come together and help each other. To help each other beyond our own friendship and boundaries. Jadon has brought a community together to fight for all childhood diseases. He shows us how to live without giving up hope and beyond limits. To live each day and be thankful for it. Because of Jadon new friendships and bonds have been made. More and more people everyday are seeing the effects of SMA and ways they can help a devastating, terminal disease, come to an end. Jadon’s hope. His parent’s hope. His family’s hope. My hope. Friend’s hope, our committee’s hope, the community’s hope, hope across the country, hope around the world. It’s spreading and everyone can help!

Jadon’s parents have an endless love and passion for their children which has spread into the Foundation. Inspiring and infectious. Their kindness, love, passion, and dedication will touch your heart and soul.

I am thankful for every single person who registered and gave their money to such a wonderful cause! I am thankful for the silent donations and those who continually want to give! Thank you to all our sponsors who are new and have given to the Bug Run for the 3rd year! We couldn’t do it without you! It’s overwhelming to say the least. People helping other people!

Spreading HOPE and awareness! I am blessed to have a wonderful committee who share the same passion! They are an amazing group of people who work so hard in different areas and in different ways but they all give all they have.

Every single volunteer! Over 150 volunteers came out to help and gave their time to help make this, a fun, safe, and enjoyable event. Thank you!

Pictures from the event will be posted in the next couple of days and I’ll keep you posted on that!

We look forward to the 4th annual Bug Run in 2016! Fun things are already being planned!

Look for us in the Old’s Settler’s Day parade in September! We’ll have the Bug Run date set! Please visit http://jadonshope.org to keep up with the latest news and happenings with Jadon and the Foundation!

In the mean time keep hope alive, keep fighting and running!
And remember; when your legs get tired, run with your heart!

Old Settlers Parade

The Johnson County Old Settlers Parade is the largest parade in the state of Kansas. It has an average of 160 entries, including 16 area High School and Middle School bands, numerous club and organization entries and several commercial floats. The parade is attended by between 65,000 and 75,000 people.  Jadon’s Hope Foundation entered a float themed “Dancing in the Rain”.

The day was a perfect sunny 70 degrees.  JHF supporters walked with the float while SMA warriors Jadon, Arturo, and Amira road along.  3,000 SMA fact cards and over 100 t-shirts were handed out to the crowd.  It was a perfect day.

A big giant THANK YOU to all the walkers and riders who helped spread SMA awareness.

D-Day #5

2009

Today marks 5 years since we received the most devastating news parents could receive.  This is D-Day or Diagnosis Day.  The day all the hopes and dreams we had for Jadon were shattered.  In 2010 and 2011, this day was marked with a lot of sorrow and mourning.  Mourning the loss of what was meant to be.

But as the years have progressed, we don’t fear today as much as we did.  Don’t get us wrong, there is still pain and will always be mourning, but as Jadon has continued to overcome insurmountable obstacles we focus on the good.

We focus on what he has accomplished.

We focus on the immense love and joy he has brought to our family.

We focus on the impact he has on so many.

We focus on dancing in the rain.

Over the years, we have learned that the purpose God has for Jadon far exceeds what we had shaped in our minds 5 years ago.  We will continue to trust and follow with Jadon leading the way.  We will continue to have faith and know that love and hope truly does endure all.

Today also marks an even bigger reason for attention –Jadon is officially 5 years and 2 months old.  Amazing! Keep fighting sweet boy.  We love you so much Bug and are so incredibly proud of you!!

SMA Awareness – What We Want You to Know

 

We are often asked what we want people to be aware of in regards to SMA.  This blog could be 20 times longer but it encompasses the basics we would like everyone to know.  It’s not that a person needs to be an expert but if  the need arises having read this information may make a difference.

First – We want people to know the disease exists.  SMA = Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

– Most people have never heard of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, including medical professionals (We certainly had not).  We want everyone to have heard of the disease.  When I say “Spinal Muscular Atrophy” I want people to say “I’ve heard of that” rather than “Gesundheit” because they think I just sneezed.

To get people’s attention we must tell them how severe the disease is
– #1 Genetic killer of kids under 2
– 90% of the kids diagnosed with SMA Type 1 don’t live to see their second birthday

Second – Symptoms and Diagnosis

There are 4 main types of SMA with Type 1 being the most severe.  As a general rule the type is dictated by age of onset and furthest milestone reached. The other 3 types would have similar symptoms but less severe.

These are symptoms for a type1 (Usually diagnosed between 0-6 mnths of age):
– Muscle weakness, limpness in the arms and legs. “floppy baby”
– Most type 1s will never sit on their own and won’t be able to hold their head up
– A weak cry, cough, and swallow
– Their belly will be very active during breathing
– The chest will be narrow and the belly rounded giving the torso a pear shape
– Most will develop a frog-leg position when lying flat on their back
– The tongue often twitches

These are several symptoms but the child may have all or only a few of these. 

Third – You can be tested to see if you are a carrier of the disease. 

-1 in 40 people carry the gene that causes SMA.
– If you are considering having children it is advisable to be tested.  Knowledge is power.
– If anyone in your family is a carrier of SMA (even second or third cousins) your chances of being a carrier increase.  If you have a first cousin that is a carrier, your odds increase to 1 in 8. (I am a carrier so I hope my cousins are paying attention.)

Two carriers having a child present a 25% chance of the child being affected by SMA.

Fourth – HOPE ENDURES

-Newly diagnosed families NEED to know that there are options of care that can extend the child’s life.  Despite the staggering statistics there are care options that can (not always) extend the life of even the most severe cases.  This care relies on the help from many machines and a specialized diet.  These options may not be right for every family but every family needs to know they exist.  Doctors definitely need to know these options exist and offer these options to newly diagnosed families, not just tell them there is nothing that can be done; just take your child home and love them.

Fifth – There is a lot of very promising research.

-There is so much scientifically known about SMA that we truly believe there will be a cure!!  Many pre-clinical research is currently active, five of which are now in clinical trials.
-Gene Therapy is the most promising research right now and it entered human clinical trial earlier this year (2014).  This is very, very, exciting!!!!

–Isis just announced that it will begin a pivotal Phase 3 study evaluating ISIS-SMNRx.

Sixth – Newborn Screening

– All newborns are tested for several diseases but SMA is not one of them.  It should be included and there are many people diligently working to make this possible.  It would be beneficial to know an SMA diagnosis as early as possible.  Once a cure is discovered this becomes even more critical.

This is the very basics of SMA Awareness.

Check out our Facebook page the entire month of August as we provide more insights into the SMA world and please, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask: www.facebook.com/JadonsHopeFoundation

Celebrating Jadon’s 5th Birthday

 “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass,
It is about learning to Dance in the Rain.”

 “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Jadon, Happy Birthday to you.

Jadon turned FIVE YEARS old on June 25, 2014 and we celebrated all week.

Statistics show that only 10% of SMA Type 1 kids live to see their second birthday.  Jadon has lived 2 1/2 times his life expectancy.  He continues to amaze and inspire us each and every day.

 

We Love You BUG!

5 Years Old and Counting

Jadon “The BUG” Burks
June 25th, 2009

Where do you see yourself in five years?

A common interview question many companies have used for a long time.

If we would have been asked this question five years ago on this day, the day Jadon was born, our answer would have been wrong.  Surely we would have forecasted higher salaries, a new house, nice cars, and oh yeah, Jadon being all boy running around like crazy and starting Kindergarten in the fall.

Had we been asked this question just two short months later, our answer would have been drastically different and thankfully, that too would have been wrong.  We would have forecasted that on this day we would be visiting Jadon’s gravesite.  Probably releasing balloons, honoring our son, crying a lot and wondering why our precious little boy had to leave us so soon.  At two months we were also prepared for the worst financially as well…but we didn’t care about that.

We are not even sure exactly where our reality falls within these two forecasts…and truthfully it doesn’t even matter.

Shortly after we were told that Jadon would be lucky to live past his first birthday we met our “face of hope.”  Hope can come from anywhere or anyone.  For us it was the face of a 5 year old boy who also has SMA Type 1.  Charlie Sykora and his family were the first members of our new SMA family that we met.  Every child is different, Charlie’s mom Kim told us several times and we soon came to realize this statement and understand how much stronger Charlie was than Jadon.  However, we were told only 50% of kids live to be one and only 10% live to be two.  Here was Charlie – happy, healthy, and an optimistic future of a five year old.  Suddenly we had hope.  We began to look beyond the statistics and what the doctors initially told us.  We armed ourselves for the battle ahead – to give Jadon the best quality of life we could.  To help him live and help him thrive. As the months went on, we were introduced to even more amazing kiddos like Charlie who were drastically beating the odds.  Kids like Veronica, Lizzy, Madison, Danielle, Aubrey, Kaige, Cashel, Allie, and MJ (who is now 26 years old).

The road has been anything but easy, but it has been rewarding.  So many things we gave up on have actually come to pass.  Jadon has:

Hung out with Charlie, and Emma (Charlie’s sister) Jadon’s 2nd Birthday (Huge Milestone)

Become a BIG BROTHER

Gone to school

Been on a baseball team

Gone to Disney

We have been inspired by so many and now we suddenly find ourselves looking at our five year old son truly understanding that Hope Endures.  We wonder whose inspiration Jadon is.  If a family has a weak type 1 and they need an example to follow, our little hero has conquered some huge obstacles.  Don’t get us wrong, there have been many very dark scary days where it seemed impossible we would see tomorrow.  But Hope Endured and tomorrow came.  Then another tomorrow, and then another, then another, until we now find ourselves celebrating his 1,826^th day of changing our lives for the good.

SMA BUDDIES

To put this into perspective, Jadon and his friends who have surpassed the 5 year mark have done something most of us don’t have a chance of doing.  At 5 years old they have lived 2.5 times longer than their life expectancy.  If the average life expectancy in America is 80 years, we would all have to live to 200 years old to do what these amazing kids are doing.

Happy 5^th Birthday Jadon!!!  We love you so incredibly much and are immensely proud of you.  You are our light, our inspiration and our hope.