Today, we attended the first annual Indianapolis 3K Run/Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech. Unfortunately, Kenny and Megan had to work and couldn't go with us, but Team Ethan was 9 strong! My parents, sisters, and brother-in-law, Brien, joined us for the event. It made Ethan's day to see all of us wearing our Team Ethan shirts.
Before the walk began, Ethan and Jacob were able to get their arms painted. At the same table were baggies with supplies to make necklaces and some coloring pages.
All of the kids with apraxia, The Apraxia Stars, kicked off the walk with a banner. From there, the crowd dispersed into families, with some jogging and some walking. Ethan wanted to run, so after the first turn, Carter, Heidi, and Brien took off with him. Heather and my parents even ran with him for a bit. I walked with Jacob since he insisted on holding my hand even though we were walking on an enclosed track. I knew Ethan was having a blast with everyone else, so I was fine with that.
There were around fifteen families who worked together to raise more than $7000 for this cause. Amazing! Most people have never heard of apraxia. We hadn't until Ethan was diagnosed with it a couple of years ago. Hopefully, with May 14th declared as National Apraxia Awareness Day, and walks such as this, word will get out and people will begin to understand a little more about the daily struggles of all of the kids affected by this disorder. My hope is that kids will be properly diagnosed and get the intensive, early intervention speech therapy that is so desperately needed. Every child deserves a voice, and I couldn't be happier that Ethan has his.
This is so cool! Love the t-shirts! Looks like you had an army of people to walk with Ethan; that's awesome!
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