GAN WARRIORS: July 2012

Friday, July 27, 2012

2012 Missoula Marathon

Sunday, July 8th 2012 was a big day for our GAN Warriors! We had some very amazing people running in the Missoula Marathon to support our cause. Collin Fehr was one of the runners and he WON the Marathon! We are very excited for Collin. He put in a lot of training and we appreciate the fact that he ran for GAN. Because he won, he was interviewed by the media and was able to give a brief explanation of whom he was running for and why. Thank You so much Collin!

Also running in the Marathon for our Warriors was Cindy Jessop-Thomas. If you go to this link here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj2Rodd4d2c and move the time to 2:57:53 you will get to see Cindy run across the finish line.... but she is running across that line with Levi, Alan and Aaron. Levi has always wanted to be a runner, like his Dad, and he got his chance to run in a Marathon! Watching him run as fast as he can, pushing his walker, is a sight you will most likely not ever forget. Thank you Cindy for helping them have that opportunity.

In the relay event for the marathon, Colby Henderson, Quentin Porter, Chris Jessop, Chase Stoker and Emmett Stoker ran for GAN Warriors too. These young men have trained hard for these events and we appreciate so much their willingness to run for these sweet boys and raise awareness of their illness. Thank you so much Colby, Quentin,Chris, Chase and Emmett!

The Marathon provided even more publicity and awareness for this great cause and we appreciate all the support and welcome all of our new supporters also.
Together we will do our best to give Levi, Alan and Aaron a chance at life.

The running crew with Levi, Alan and Aaron.

Watching the other runners.

Go Levi!

Running to the finish line.

Cleaning up after Aaron threw up. One of the symptoms of GAN.

Meet Levi!

Levi is five years old and attends Kindergarten. His best friends are his brother Shawn, and his cousin Simon. He has a passion for cars- they are his favorite toy. His favorite color is red. His favorite store is the Dollar Store. Levi asks alot of questions about Heaven. He's glad that there are no sick people in Heaven, but sometimes worries that he might have to go there without his mom and dad. He really wants to get better and run. He says he, "wants to be a runner like Daddy was". Levi is friendly and polite, and very patient about having a disease and being different. He has leg braces and uses a walker. At school, he uses a wheel chair for longer distances (like back and forth from the playground) to conserve energy.

Meet Aaron and Alan!

Aaron and Alan are identical twins. The best way for people to tell them apart is that Alan is missing a tooth. He knocked it out when he fell down (which he does a lot due to the disease) and hit a chair. The twins are best buddies and if they are not together, they ask where their "dud" is. They love the movie "Iron Giant", their dog Charlie, and cars- like Levi. They both have shy sweet smiles, and are very good natured children, even though they often suffer with nausea and vomiting, which is part of the disease. It's hard to be around them and not want to cuddle and hold them. They are almost four years old, and the disease has progressed to the point where they need leg braces.