Can You Help?

Little Noah Estes is only four years old. He has spent his entire little life in and out of hospitals. When Noah was just two he was finally diagnosed with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy (mito) even though his parents knew something was wrong far before there was an official diagnoses. Mito affects a lot of Noah's organs. In fact, as of last month he can no longer take anything by mouth. Some of his meds were oral and his care providers are now struggling to find a way to effectively help ease his pain.

What does that have to do with me and my blog?

I have "known" Kate, Noah's mom, since before Noah was born. We used to be part of a large homeschooling Yahoo group. In fact, I sent Kate a scrapbook for Noah when he was born as part of a virtual baby shower. When my mom was ill and we were stressing a bit about how to get all of the necessary medical supplies needed for her dressing changes on her PICC line, Kate stepped up to help. She was a great source of comfort to me during that difficult time. Even though their life with Noah is never stable.

Currently Noah has declined enough that he needs a wheelchair. Due to some amazing miracles (which seem to happen quite often when it comes to Noah - we serve a great God!) he finally managed to get his "night time hot lava chair" (it's red and black) but the next hurdle is a vehicle.

Noah is the seventh child of Kate and Jeff. Their current vehicle isn't adequate enough. They are currently holding a fundraiser to help raise money to buy a mini-bus. This will allow Noah's heavy wheelchair to simply be rolled aboard and locked in place. It also leaves enough room for the rest of Noah's siblings to join them and allows them to travel as a family. The Estes' have always worked hard to make Noah's life as normal as possible. This would be a huge step in that direction for them.

So how can you help?

The Estes' are putting together an auction. One is being held "in-real-life" in North Carolina where they live. It's happening in just eight days. There will be a silent auction, concessions, and all sorts of fun things for the kiddos.

Since a lot of us who love Noah can't make it to the IRL event, there will also be an online auction as well. The online event starts March 2nd and goes through March 5th (the day of the IRL event). All proceeds from both of these events will go directly to helping Noah get "his wheels."

Donations are needed for the auctions. You can see all the details of both events along with how to donate an item HERE. If you can't make either event, but would still like to help out, please consider a monetary donation. Every little bit helps.

You can follow Noah's progress by following his blog - Praying for Noah. He is currently in the hospital so prayers are very much needed right now. You can also follow the progress of the fundraiser by following the Wheels for Noah blog.