Gabe's Story

Our son Gabe came into this world with a quiet strong will. I use the word Quiet because the first two years of his life he was silent. Gabe could laugh and cry BUT other than that he never made a sound. Don't get me wrong he was a great baby never fussed, slept through the night, breast-fed like a champ, and was happy!! It never even hit me until it was time for him to physically move. He never rolled over or sat up on his own unless I helped him.

My mom being a nurse was worried and voiced concern. I worked on him for a month and finally got him to sit up on his own at 9 months. He sat up for another 4 months BUT never attempted to move any other way. On his first birthday I watched him learn to scoot on his bum positioning his entire body and using only his left hand to reach a balloon. I was so happy he was moving only to realize 3 months later at his first evaluation he was low toned and would need to start physical therapy.

After the first evaluation Jordan and I were shocked at what we heard and were sent on to a pediatric specialist to rule out possible genetic syndromes.

Within the first 10 minutes of the exam Dr. Sampson-Fang told me she was not worried about his lack of movement that he will get there with therapy BUT she looked right at me and said "Does Gabriel talk?" "Has he ever babbled?" It hit me like a ton of bricks my son doesn't speak! How as his mother did I not notice he never cooed or babbled. He never mimicked back an utterance. Had I been so busy not to pay attention to the milestones Gabe should have been hitting. I felt like such a failure. That is when I heard the term Apraxia for the first time.

Three months later , tubes in his ears , glasses on his face and his strong will Gabe took his first step. His voice came much later.

Gabe is now 4.5 years old and has been going to speech therapy twice a week for 2 years. He has a component of childhood speech apraxia and auditory processing disorder. Gabe physically fought to take his first step and has to fight even harder to FIND HIS VOICE. When I hear him say anything it takes my breath away because it truly is a miracle. How we all take for granted how easy it is to speak. Speech therapy with Maria has been the key to unlocking Gabe's voice with that being said its also very expensive .

Jordan and I have tried to come up with numerous ways to fund raise and that is why we are changing our blog. This coming spring we will be having an annual garage sale and we will be hosting a 5K to raise money to help with the cost of therapy and schooling. In the meantime if there is anything anyone would like to donate I will be selling items on KSL and Ebay. This blog will keep everyone updated on any new information.We feel so grateful and blessed for all the support we have received and want you all to know we love you! One day Gabe can look back and say THANK YOU !

Thanks for helping me find my voice!!

Thanks for helping me find my voice!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Race Prep


Xander, Gabe, Hollie, Campbell and I are getting ready for the race!

Gabe may turn out to be a runner.... We train at the Clearfield Aquatic Center by primarily running on the track that surrounds the basketball courts. I had to really slow them down because they were sprinting for about 3 laps and then dying and not being able to continue the trek.... so I have taught them how to jog at a steady pace.

Xander does a great job of setting a goal of 9-12 laps and running until it is done. Gabe tends to run and run and run! Sometimes he gets mad when we leave because he wants to keep going and it is very cool. He is just into it and it shows. I am so proud of the boys and how active they are.... we are all rallying around this cause even Xander likes to give Gabe the attention.

They are both using ipods while running and usually I can see them either mouthing the words or singing out loud. Either way they do it I love it and it truly warms my heart to see them have fun and learn to do this together.

Hollie was spinning pretty consistently and has added running and "Biggest Loser" exercise programs to her game. She is totally getting ready and making goals on how we are going to do this race... should we throw the kids in a jogging stroller and go or should we just have them there for the beginning and leave it at that... we are not sure at this point.

Training with Gabe and finding his voice in mind has brought a tremendous amount of inspiration to what I am doing. If I am running and want to give up... I think of Gabe trying to learn a difficult word and suddenly I have the energy to keep going. If I want to sleep in I think about Xander running laps at the Aquatic Center for his brother and I think to myself, "how could I let my boys down?, how could I not give them all I have to make this a special event?" and I keep pushing. There is no doubt that I feel in my heart an overwhelming desire to help inspire my son to work through his issues and not settle for anything less than success.

He will look back at this someday and say, "Can you believe I couldn't speak? HA!"

We are also making special T-Shirts for those that sign up in Gabe's name. The design will be done soon so please stay tuned.

Please enjoy the pictures and know that the Sandberg's are training and doing everything we can to make the Legacy Midnight Run a very special event for the family and all that participate.

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1 comment:

Julie said...

Jordan and Hollie ...you guys are more than gifted with expressing your struggles...thoughts...and possible solutions. I love you all...Gabey is in your family for a very important reason! Mom/Julie

January 28, 2011 at 8:07 PM

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