Hal-LEO-ween 2010!!!

Dear Friends of Leo,

Greetings from Leo's friends Julie, Maud, and Sydney! We are writing because a very special day is approaching -- Leo's second birthday is on Hal-LEO-ween!

First, we want to celebrate the amazing community effort that came together last year for Leo's first birthday. Over a hundred friends and family members (including friends and family members of friends) contributed to raise close to $18,000 for Leo. Cora and Jim were humbled, in awe, and incredibly grateful. Thank you for your gifts!

With those gifts, Cora and Jim funded a year of extraordinary victories for Leo. A year ago, we didn’t know if Leo could will his legs to move, let alone propel him around. Today, he walks with enthusiasm in his walker and on the treadmill, thanks in large part to a trip to the PT center at Kennedy Krieger center in Baltimore, to Feldenkrais sessions, and to the tireless efforts of PT and Leo's daily-support folks in getting Leo in and out of countless pieces of equipment. Thanks now to the guidance of his Feldenkrais therapist, he is also trying hard to scoot or combat crawl these days.

Leo's First Birthday Fund was thoughtfully spent helping to pay for his therapies, trips, equipment and care that facilitated these amazing accomplishments. When Cora and Jim couldn't borrow or rent adaptive equipment critical to Leo's development, they had the funds to buy items like the ipad with its interactive communication programs that they say "unlock him." They were able to take Leo to see remarkable experts like Dr. Jan in St. Louis, who focuses on Cerebral Palsy and is also an inspiration to all of her patients as she lives her life with CP. Leo's birthday fund also allowed Jim and Cora to pay for valuable Feldenkrais sessions and to enroll him in weekly music therapy classes.

As Leo's second birthday approaches, we know that some of you are planning to give fabulous Leo a present to commemorate his first two triumphant years and to facilitate continued progress during his third year. For those who are interested, we are organizing a group gift fund. We would love to help the True-Frosts fund the countless items that will be critical in Leo's third year. They will continue to have many of the same needs, such as trips to see consulting doctors, adaptive technology for movement and communication, and Feldenkrais lessons. They will also be planning for a larger Leo with large items like an adaptive bed and an accessible van. This year Leo leaves babyhood behind and embraces growing into toddlerhood. We want to celebrate all of his hard work to toddle!

If you would like to contribute to the fund, you can send a check made out to Cora and Jim True-Frost to Sydney Foster at 421 4th St. SE Apt. 1, Washington, DC 20003. Alternatively, you can send a contribution electronically to Cora and Jim using Paypal. To make a donation using Paypal, click on the "Donate" button on the left-hand side of this blog. Sydney will directly deposit checks sent to her to the True-Frosts’ account. We’ll share the names of the friends, and not the amounts, with the True-Frosts (unless requested otherwise by the gift-giver). If you would prefer for your name to be anonymous, we can do that, too.

We invite you to contribute any amount -- as you know, in this community, it's not the size of any one contribution, but the sum of our collective love and support that matters. If you are not in a position to send a gift, no worries; please know that your love and support are gift enough. Also, please feel free to forward this letter to anyone with whom you have shared Leo's wonderful story.

We know how much Cora, Jim, and Leo appreciate you being part of their lives. They've told us they are deeply touched that we are organizing Leo's helpers when they are still fantasizing about personally thanking everyone who helped last year. One of the many things they've shared is the isolation that being a special needs family can bring. The Community of Leo is an antidote to the isolation. We can't be there everyday to hug and help, but we can send our cheers for Leo's victories and our support for his challenges.

Thank you for being a part of that community!

Warm Wishes,

Julie Johnson McVeigh (julietess@gmail.com)

Maud Abeel (mabeel70@gmail.com)

Sydney Foster (sydney.ar.foster@gmail.com)