Walking With Angels!

WOW! What an amazing day! First, I'd like to again thank all of our family and friends who donated to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) and supported Little J in the walk-a-thon! The event was fantastic! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was!

We were up bright and early getting the kids ready and out the door! The event was in Sacramento, so we had to get an early start. The park was beautiful! It was sooo HOT, but the park had lots of trees and shade. We got lots of updates on what the ASF is working on now and for the future. The future looks so promising for treatments and possibly even a cure for AS!

At the beginning of the walk, all the Angels were lined up at the starting line for photos. It was so beautiful to see all these amazing kids together! A moment of silence was held for Dr. Joseph Wagstaff. He was an amazing doctor who did so much for research and for children with Angelman Syndrome. He passed away in April after a hiking accident. The walk started with one of the Angels using a huge pair of scissors to cut the ribbon! We enjoyed a three mile walk through a beautiful park. There were lots of smiles and laughter everywhere! Along the way they had signs that described some of the medical and behavior issues that individuals with AS and their families face. They had signs of thanks. They also came up with this brilliant idea of posting photos of some of the Angels and encouraging words along the walk path. Of course I did get a photo of Little J's sign!

After the walk, there was a lot of time to connect with other families and meet people we've only chatted with online. I had plans to take tons of photos, but I really got caught up meeting everyone and their angels. This community of parents and others who are involved with our children is just wonderful! There were families with older Angels as well as families of newly diagnosed. It was touching to share our experience with newly diagnosed families as well as getting information from families who've been where we are now. It really amazes me how open and giving this community is and how wonderful it is to just know these people. As you can see by the photos at the end Little J and Princess J were worn out. Not only did they take a nice nap on the way home from the walk, they also slept really well.

A rough estimate of the money raised by the Sacramento Walk location alone is about $115,000! So again, thank you to all of you who donated! The donation pages are still open, so if you'd still like to contribute you can! Here at Little J's fundraising page! The ASF is working on supporting so many research projects and every little bit helps!