Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Kindness of Strangers

One little boy.

One little dimpled boy who somehow has acquired a following that seems to reach all over the globe.

Some days it just blows us away.

Over the last number of weeks our little boy has been blessed times three.  Big blessings. 

I want to share one blessing at a time.  Each blessing is big enough to deserve its own post.

Remember our bike woes, when we were ticking through Plans A, B and C to get Aaron up on a bike???

Nothing worked.  Aaron was frustrated, and we just didn't know which way to turn.

Until one fine day, when in rode the cavalry in the form of a sharp young lady named Cortney.

Cortney is a grad student who was following our blog, watched Aaron's bike struggles, and decided that getting Aaron on wheels was within her field of expertise.

She did some research and found Aaron a bike. An expensive, recumbent model. 

She bought it with her OWN money, and then she and her friend Sue brought it to our house a few weeks ago so that Aaron could try it out.



She spent an hour measuring and considering how to make that bike fit his needs.






Then she took it home and made some adjustments.

On Monday she came back to try them out.



She and her brother welded up some special collars for the crank. These allowed her to adjust the crank length to fit Aaron's range of motion.


She made a few adjustments with the expert help of Aaron himself...


and then Aaron was ready to roll.

Aaron sums up the bike experience with these words: "I go fastin' fastin' on Aaron's bike."





 

Okay, yes, it is still a work in progress. Aaron is still working on steering and pedalling, and Cortney is still working on the brakes (right now he uses the Fred Flintstone braking system). But let me tell you: he is one happy little boy on that odd-looking little bike of his. And it's all through the generosity of someone who was, until a couple of weeks ago, a complete stranger. Aaron's story touched Cortney's heart, and now Cortney has touched his.





P.S. - Did you notice the shirt Aaron is wearing? Isn't it cute??  In case you can't read it - It says "Ability - Change Your Focus".  I bought it from Tracy Morgan who is adopting a sweet Reece's Rainbow babe named Lucy.   She of course needs to raise money for her adoption and has decided to try to raise some of her money by selling some shirts.  Go check them out here:  LUCY'S ADOPTION.  Buy one or two or ten for your children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends and help a Mom bring her little one home.  Aaron thinks his is quite cool!!

19 comments:

  1. what an INCREDIBLE GIFT! he looks like he couldnt be happier! my kids bikes all HAVE brakes and guess what? they do the fred flintstone anyways so Aaron you fit right in!

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  2. WOW!!!! What wonderful people. Random Acts of Kindness.... Pass it on!! :)

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  3. Awesome! What a blessing! And his shirt is great, too!

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  4. I am a recumbent bike rider myself and love it! I do caution that with the "Fred Flintstone" brake style on this type of bike, you can get your legs pulled under the bike and get hurt, so the hand brakes are the safest option once he masters those. He looks so happy!!

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  5. Tears are rolling down my face. What a beautiful post. The joy in Aaron's face......Of course I know that angels walk among us--you yourself are a shining example--but it is always so beautiful when another one appears looking like a regular human being. Cortney, you rock!

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  6. Cortney you and your friends rock! You are an amaizing young lady!
    Aaron looks so happy! I love all the pictures, but specially the last one, his hair and the wind.. perfect!

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  7. Cortney, you are a blessing! just look at that happy boy!

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  8. That bike is the bomb! I'd bet cash money Elijah and Ben are dying to get on that thing.. I would be...Aaron, you are one lucky little dude. Cortney, you know you just earned about a million cool points in my book. You are awesome.

    Love wins,
    Renee Tam

    p.s. blogger better get it's act together or else I'm gonna get scrappy on it with my bad self :)

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  9. This is amazing! Our little man has arthrogryposis that severely affects his hands and club feet as well. We also are seeing Dr. Van Bosse in Philly. It always amazes me how God can use the kindness of others for such huge blessings in our lives. What a wonderful gift.

    Christy

    PS...I know I saw an ice-cream holder on here somewhere. Where did you get that? We would love to buy one for our son, Abel.

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  10. How exciting to see the joy on Aaron's face riding his own bike! thank you Cortney and brother for investing in Aaron's joy. Julia I thought it was you that was adopting Jonah. Sorry about the confusing comment. Anyway we are still thrilled he has a family!!
    We finally got to hold Ethan ( Gage) yesterday!

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  11. The look of pure joy and excitement on his face is priceless!

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  12. What an amazing gift!! I love Aaron's huge smile and the picture of him running into the bush. I know he'll have the steering down in no time!

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  13. What a gift! God always provides! I think you need to get a video of him riding his new wheels!

    Brooke Annessa
    www.theannessafamily.blogspot.com

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  14. what a beautiful heart that young woman has and what a very happy little boy.. true blessings for sure :)

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  15. Hot Rod Aaron :O) May God bless this sweet woman for her kindess and also being able to see the happiness on little Aaron's face is such a reward of love share for us all to enjoy:O) May Aaron speed through the streets of happiness on his new wheels. :O)

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Loving words from kind people make our hearts glad!