Operation Leo Bike!

Dear Friends and Members of Team Leo: Some of you may remember that Leo had the thrill of powering a bike for the first time during his visit to Dr. Jan in May. The bike that Dr. Jan prescribed for Leo is called a Freedom Concepts DCP16 (see: http://www.freedomconcepts.com/fc_products/f3-bike-series/discovery-series/dcp-16/), and the price will be at least $5000. These adapted bikes not only provide children with physical disabilities like Leo the opportunity to play with their able-bodied friends on a similar footing, they also offer a physically engaged way of getting around. Rather than passive modes of transportation like a power wheelchair or manual wheelchair, the hope would be that Leo would be able to gradually strengthen his legs and arms to self-propel the bike, and perhaps use the bike to get around at school, as a supplement to his powerchair. You may also remember that Jim and Cora entered Leo in a drawing to win a (different, and not as well-suited, but equally expensive) adaptive bike back in May. Leo did not win a bike, and Jim and Cora weren't quite sure how to proceed. They pursued insurance unsuccessfully. They looked for used versions of the bike unsuccessfully. Finally, faced with tens of thousands of dollars worth of disability-related expenses this year, they were persuaded by us to reach out to those who are ready to help Leo get a bike for the necessary support. This letter announces our effort to raise enough money to get our adorable friend Leo a bicycle. If you are able to contribute support, you can do so online through the link at the left. Or you can send a check made out to "C. True-Frost, c/o Dawn Boudria, 522 Quackenbos St. NW, Washington, DC 20011 No amount is too small. We are hoping to be able to order the bike for Leo soon. Leo's Former Caregivers United! Dawn, Liz, and Kayla

Hall-Leo-Ween 2012! Thank You So Much!

A huge thank you goes out to each of you. So far, not three days past Leo’s birthday, the True-Frosts have been able to get Leo his power chair controller – and Leo has already brought his power chair at school. In no time, he should be moving around the classroom and doing more of the things many other children take for granted. Leo is thrilled, and so are we. 2012 Friends of Leo Contributors Maud Abeel Joan Allen Kay & Ray Alvarez Sara Bakker Maryellen & Jack Bank Charles Barzun & Emily Little Laura & Chris Bauer Seth Beckerman Leslie Bender Christine Benson Corey Bettenhausen Anu & Travis Bradford Rachel Brewster & James Mulholland Jake Brooks Dana Callahan Jeff Christian Nancy Cole Tara Conklin & Nick Maddock Lara Corey Jared Craig & Katie Gill Stephanie Dant Justine Deutsch Kerry Donahue Laura Eason Sarah Fargo Daniel Fish Hilary Foster Sydney Foster Maxine Gere Jim Greiner & Jennifer Lewis Heather and Coy Green Anne Guillemet Brian Guthrie Mari Hinojosa George Joseph Janelle Jones Thomas Kane Chimene Keitner Lisa Bird Kelly Barbara Kingsley Terry Kinney Loren Kittilsen & Judd Spray Stuart Knoop Barbara Krekow Ronald Lebofsky John Leo Peter Leondedis Karen Liebermann Kathy & Ray Lindberg Domenick Lombardozzi Marilyn Lucas Wendy Madgwick Rebekah Maggor Wendy Marshall Sheila Mathis Laura McGrew Hilary & Alan McLeod Julie Johnson & Patrick McVeigh Jonathan Mintz Amanda Mujica Laurent Nauczyciel Barbara Neufeld Russ Neufeld & Jess Brooks Alisa Newman and Ludovic Hood Brian O'Neill Organized Artist Company Eloise Pasachoff & Tom Glaisyer Gordon Peake Stephanie Pezard Sharene Philip Kara Piccirilli Nancy Pinn Ananya Price Amanda Pustilnik Kenneth Pustilnik Donald Ratner MJ Regan Merle Reskin Elizabeth Rich Derick Rodgers Gary Rudoren Tracy Sallows Adam Saunders Brad & Hristina Schlagger David Schleicher Campbell Scott Lois Smith Sonja Starr Francesca Strumia Jeanne Tai Karen Thomas Courtney Tries Mac True Emily True Amy Tully Cheryl Turski Melanie Urdang Miriam Vogel & Will Shrank Leslie Williams Doug Wright & David Clement Also, a big apology regarding the spacing of this entry--blogger's not allowing me to hit a hard return after line. And a picture of Leo with his girlfriend on his birthday in the Treehouse room. THANK YOU, everyone!

Leo Sends a Shout Out to All of His New (and Old) Friends

ISAAC in Pittsburgh was super-informative! Leo is glad that our family made the 8-hour schlep to the conference for the International Society on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. We met new friends and got some good ideas about how to continue to support and stimulate Leo's interest in reading and spelling and talking. Leo and Phoebe both were troopers during the sessions and put in some long days. All towards the quest of improving communication!

We would never have been able to attend the conference without the wheelchair van. There is no way we would have had it in us to handle all of the reststops, etc. Thank you more than we can ever say, Team Leo!!!

THANK YOU!

Hooray! They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this picture, those words are all about joy, relief, and gratitude!

Leo's first trip in the van was to the orthotist--what a total dream to roll in and out of the van to the appointment. The second trip was out running errands with dad, the type of trip he wouldn't have been able to go on before we had the van. The third trip was to church on Christmas. The fourth was to the airport and into a coffee shop with mom and dad, again the type of trip he would have made in a car seat or simply sat out and stayed home before the van.

Thank you all more than we can ever express!

TEAM LEO SHOUT-OUTS

We can never say thank you enough, but here are many of the people to whom Leo is grateful for his new set of wheels:

Laura Glenn
Michelle Dahmer
Tara Helfman
Brian Strnad
Katherine Frost
George Joseph
Laurie Katz
Barbara Weldon
Elizabeth Owen
Tom Kane
Organized Artist Company
Timothy Webster
Gary Rudoren
Scott Benjaminson
Ananya Price
Karen Liebermann
David Curry
Larry Buterman
Jonathan Mugar
Malcolm Ewen
Martha Plimpton
Laura ingalls
Janelle Jones
Michael Moran
Elizabeth Dennehy
James Oheir
Claudette Brunelli
Galit and Adam Sarfaty
Brian Guthrie
Nancy Katlin
Judy Karman
Dolores "Dee" McHenry
Niko Godfrey
Tom Glaisyer and Eloise Pasachoff
Anna Novick
Leslie Bender
Brian O'Neill
Doug Wright and David Clement
Ted Henning
Richard Gilliam
Wendy Lubell
Jim Greiner and Jen Lewis
Tanya Deryugina
George Joseph
Sara Kenney
Nina Berkowitz
Tim Hopper
Christine Campbell
Loren Kittilsen and Judd Spray
Molly Regan
Bethany Hauch
Thomas Donnelly
Francesca Strumia
Val True
Sydney Foster
Alisa Newman
Jelena Tarbuk and Tyler Frost
Emilie White
Gordon peake
Danielle Gagliardi
Amanda Howard
Cheryl Contee
Tara Conklin
Corey and Alli Brettschneider
Merle Reskin
Laura Conklin
Naomi Donnelly
Darren Rosenblum
Michele Rhudy
Garrett Gaston
Tamara Dunn
Julie Cowen
John Brooks
Outreach at St Micheal and All Angels' Parish
Burke Stansbury and Krista Lee
Lisa Kelley
Julie Nelson
Erin Antebi
Kevin Beltz
John Vendetti
Dara Kelly
Kathleen & Campbell Scott
Linda Cabeca
Jennifer Houston
L Lineal
Justine Deutsch
Austin & Barbara Frishman
Jen Murphy
Jenia Turner
Adrianne Hewitt
Jaci Lageson
Pam Oster
Terry Meginnis
Stephanie Pezard
Sylvain Berlemont
Robin Grace
Dominique Guillemet
Robert Riley
Barbara Gill
Tyler Dobrowsky
Sandra Butler
Paula Plum
Kevin Gill
Abigail Killeen
Samuel Zelitch
Jeff Adelberg
Jamie Jones
Elizabeth Burgess
William Flanagan
Tamara Dunn
Peter Leondedis
Galit Sarfaty
Todd Phillips
Todd Metzger
Carolyn Rutstein
Kathryn McCray
Paulette Song
Momoko Niemi
Amy Weber
Alison Badrous
Chad & Collette Gumm
Charlie Goldberg
Emily True
Joe Shuga
Mimi & Julian Lebofsky
Shandana Batchu
Marie Lee
Jamie Needre
Slinky Calhoun
Marie Polizzano
McGovesa
Joan Allen
Lara Corey
Paul Daigneault
Sharon Kennedy
James Craig
Stephen Kidder
Simon Body
Randall Dunn
Peter Surdel
Matt Zalosh
Elizabeth Repenning
Julia Read
Michael Deutsch
Clovene Campbell
Lindsay Hunt
Sarah Titus
Brian Kerwin
Michael Bretholz
Christopher Wilson
Terry Turnipseed
Alice Finn
Maureen Keleher
Perfect Essay
AnnMarie TomSitz
Elizabeth Bangs and Brent Landau
Daniel Popkey
Erica Weinstein
Alisha Pollastri
Jodi Lockwood
Jason Craig
Elizabeth Bouchard
Marcy Whalen
Paula Quinn
Justine Deutsch
Stacy Andreotes
Lindy Lee Gold
Kathleen Reid
Scrimshanders
Jane Gray
Arthur Page
Michael Coenen
Rita Foley
Diane Coleman
Stephanie Dant
Sara Wharton
Erica Neufeld
Melissa O'Donnell
Amy Tully
David Krasnow
Barbara Neufeld
Daniel Fish
Taro Kaizu
Elaine Gottlieb
Carrie Endries
Sean Haran
Diane and Chuck Frost
Theresa Craig
Marianna Bassham
James Griggs
Andrew White
Jennifer McLaughlin
Kevin Connolly
Kirsten Norsworthy
Diane Messiquia
Aimee Siebert
Kyle Bradstreet
Natalie and Zack Gubler
Allegra Mujica
Gregory Erbach
Taryn Pinstein
Amanda & Denise Mujica
Rachel F. B./AJF
Maria Arabatzis
Nancy Bocchino
Susan McGarry
James Dineen
Haven & Daniel Kiernan
Lauren & Edward Brooks
Arthur Neufeld
Kieran McGowan& Diana Malcom
Anne Leyrat
Camila Friedlander
Jonathan & Laura Gassner Otting
Nicole Gann
Terri Bradford
Jane Charlesworth
Jane Guyer Adam Fujita
Joe and Angela Ceruti
Jess Brooks Russ Neufeld
Patricia Gold
Nicole Gann
Suzy Kane
James Pelton
Tim Plaehn
Douglas Day
Holly Muson
Celene Berman
Margaret Steere
Courtney Hayes-Sturgeon
Ken Levy
Janice Kinigopoulos
Debi Young
Marianne and Chris Leone Cooper
Maria Giatrelis
Andrew Woods
Keith Adams
Julie Johnson McVeigh Patrick McVeigh
Katherine Readey
Mercedes Younger
Maxine Gere
Kirt Gunn
Margaret Lyons
Dale Menten
Lois Smith
Nora Bojar
Brishen Rogers and Fernanda Nicola
Rebecca Bolin
Chimene Keitner
Lai Ha Ng
Nick Maddock and Tara Conklin
Michael Malloy
Rashmi Goel
Chihiro Gompei
Janice Kinigopoulos
Charlotte Walker
Rachel Anderson
Judith Whitenack
Nadine Johnson
Laura Eason
Daphne Abeel
John and Fiona Reardon
Jack Kuhn
Catherine Solomon
Miriam Laguesen and Andrew Sabl
Nancy Foy
Rebecca Nordhaus
Edward Isidor
Julie Smith
Gideon Lester
Susannah Lipsyte
Realtime Music Solutions, LLC
Mary McGloin
Laura and Daniel Scales
Leslie Bodkin
Pat Hart
Andrew Chen
Stephen Fridella Marika Whaley
Rana Ghahremanpour
Paula Dempsey
Veronica Mirisola Stanek
Meghan Scanlon
Michael ` Blunck
Nadine Hachmann
Claire Howard
William Hood
Scott Newman
Julie Johanning
Alisa Newman and Ludovic Hood
Sarah Sahl
Maud Abeel
Adam Kern
David Skeist
Derick Rodgers
Bette McCallister
Therese Plaehn
Jenna Ciralli
Amanda Frost
Elizabeth Griffin
Steven Loff
Michelle Ferrara
Linda Fung
Marty Sprong
Jonathan Morrow
Julie Smith
Maria Giatrelis
Jeanne Silver-Keenan
Patrick and Tricia Youssi
Julia Kennedy
Andrew & Carolyn Wright
Roberta Kunen Pamela Kunen Henes
Laura Douthat
Rigo Lopez
Miriam Vogel
Charlie Stone
Andrew Templar
Leslie Williams
Ryan Henriquez
Sarah Shteir
Patricia Huang
Hilary and Alan Mcleod
Cheryl Turski
Nigel Gore
Ben lambert
Tommy Dickie
John Haddon
Andrea Svingos
Daniele Svingos
Zaal Aresh
Patrick Zeller
Russell Gordon
Stephane Bone
Nancy Dempze

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! YOU ARE AMAZING!

You did it!

Dear Team Leo,

YOU DID IT! We passed our goal in just eight weeks to buy Leo True-Frost an adapted van for his wheelchair. Your hard work and generosity will directly impact Leo's quality of life. Having the van means it will be so much easier to get to his steady round of doctors appointments and physical therapy sessions. Importantly, it also means Leo will enjoy the same things all children deserve: dropoffs for playdates, a day at the park, and the freedom to explore.

The van purchase and selection of appropriate adaptive equipment is now in process. Leo should be rolling in his new van very soon.

Team Leo proves that the power of community, hope and love can make anything happen. When we started talking about this idea earlier this year, we thought it might be a stretch to raise $5,000. We have never been so happy to have been wrong!

We want to recognize all Team Leo members by "tagging" you on Facebook and posting a little note to your Facebook page. So, please "friend" Dana Coleman or Julie Johnson so we can do this. (Team Leo was not just a ploy for us to get more Facebook friends).

Also, please let us know if you were at the group run in Cambridge so we can "tag" you in the group photo.

We give a special shout out to Keith Adams of Alemar Cheese who donated proceeds from a day at the farmers' market, and Therese Plaehn who organized a benefit Bocce tournament in Brooklyn. Their hard work pushed us over the top passing the goal in late August. (Sorry we've been so delayed in this celebration. organizer fatigue.)

You all were an amazing part of this effort. Thank you for what you have done for Leo and shown can be done collectively. Run Leo!

Julie Johnson McVeigh and Dana Callahan

Just $2000 more to go!

Have fun at the party tonight!