Gabe's Race

July 15th was one special day for Gabe and our family!

Here are some of the highlights:

~Ben & Cassie volunteered for the first few hours then raced a 5k together for their first time. Great way to spend time together as a couple and help inspire our family. They were there from start to finish every drove my tired and overly emotional butt home.

~Taylor Paige ran in Gabe's honor with her friend and took second place in her age group.

~Jamie ran the food table with her boy Chase, which turned into making, cutting and serving thousands of PB&J sandwiches, oranges and other items. She rocked it in the background like always but you know WE WERE WATCHING and will always be grateful.

~Grandma Campbell came and oversaw us all, she is 80 and it was way past her bedtime!

~My Dad (and Stacy) came and gave me a high five around mile 8-9, I can't remember exactly where but it gave added support that was very much needed.

~Tauni appeared for a while... ha!

~Dave Dawson and Jason Hyde came along after about 10 years to support our Gabey. I heard Dave say to the race director, "I am here until you send me home". They both inspired me to be more selfless and helpful even if it is inconvenient. Dave's wife also was a right hand person to Hollie in helping with the table and doesn't know Hollie at all.

~Patrice Harris (Mom's co-worker) helped with food, t-shirts and glow sticks for hours.

~Nick organized the t-shirts and helped with various things.

~Scott Campbell and entire family were worker bees as they put sandwiches, oranges and did anything they could to help this race go well.

~The Shreeve boys showed up and manned the glow stick area. No fan fair, no hype, just showed up served and went home. The inspire many with the way they just come and work.

~Gabriel Rojas served drinks and Goo on the road as us racers ran by and needed a boost. He was there the entire race as well. Long haul but supported Gabe and our family.

~Curt Brough was there bouncing the busses for anyone that wanted to try and sneak on... He also showed up, did his duty and supported our boy.

~Paul, Golightly, Matt and Steve all ran with me and helped me make the long haul.

~My Mom took photos and showed Jack off and is always the constant fan to all our efforts.

~Cami and Brandon also bounced on the busses and turned a several man project into a one woman show. I think a few volunteers were let go, (including Brandon) to other efforts once she took the reins.

~Jamie M, Elisa, Jodi and Brooke also pitched in the effort to get the food ready and made sandwiches. Jodi ran the race and the rest were still making oranges when things were shutting down... talk about working till the bell.

~Carol watched Campbell for us to make it all come together!

~Xander and Gabe played with glow sticks with Carver and Chase... Gabe walked around like a celebrity as random people would come up to him and tell him they were following his blog. One man came in a wheel chair and claimed he did it for Gabe... all loved his shirts.

~Matt Oviatt came to volunteer... bounced the buses, rounded people up then as we talked before the race started he decided to run the half. He took his shirt off, handed over his wallet and keys and ran the marathon in trendy shoes and g-bottoms. He truly was inspired to come and be a part of a great feeling! Final note, he hadn't run a mile in 4-5 years.

Hollie also put it all together. I would imagine Joe Coles will be calling her for advice on how to better organize things and bring it all together as Hollie always ties up all loose ends and makes everything perfect. Hollie put most of our volunteers to work and brought the heat in serving and making things happen. We would not have had such a great event without her and her efforts as always.

PLEASE KNOW

Many other volunteers and racers are not mentioned only because I could not be everywhere the whole time. I invite all to tell their stories so we can get a more overall picture of what happened out there. Send me a note and I will include it!

Last of all while I was struggling to keep running on the final two miles I asked a lady to make a deal with me. I asked her to pick her feet up and I would do the same and be each others motivators.... we both did it but slowed down on the last half mile to have our final conversation. I asked her, "what do you race for?" and she said, "I am 53 and I can... how about you, why do you race?". At that moment I looked down at my Gabe shirt and gabbed it to show her and said, "I run for Gabe my son". She said "really, how come?" I burst with emotion and told her through flooding tears I cannot talk right now and sprinted the last half mile.

It was a long last half mile as I was crying so much I could barely breathe. You know the type of crying that little kids do when they are almost hyperventilating? That is what I was doing as I ran across the finish line with a few hundred people looking on.

I wonder now, do those strangers have any idea what was happening at that moment? Do they have any idea that my life has been altered so much by running for my boy Gabey? Do they know that at that last few seconds I promised God that nothing will stand in our family's way as we help Gabe continue to find his voice? Do they know that I learned you find you own voice while helping others find theirs? Do they know that my boy Gabe was in hog heaven that day and even though he may be teased and taunted for his form of communication but we knew in this moment he will eventually get the last laugh?

The truth they don't know and many did not care. They were there for their own purposes or their own Gabes but I don't care.

All I know is that we set out on this project (not to make money) to help inspire Gabe and our family and I cannot speak for everyone involved but for me, Hollie, Xander, and Gabey will be forever changed and nothing will stand in our way to help Gabe find his voice and fulfill his own purpose on this earth.

Thank you all, we loved it and are thankful for all the kind words and encouraging actions to make steps forward!

TEAM GABE

FIND YOUR VOICE

Simply Amazed

Our dear friend and neighbor Lindsey Rietzsch recently wrote a book called How to Date Your Spouse. She emailed me a few weeks ago to tell me that she would like to donate a percentage of her book sales every month to Gabe's fund. Jordan and I are simply amazed by her generosity. So if you would like a good book to read and help Gabe find his voice. Check out her website www.howtodateyourspouse.com and purchase a book. Thank you!!

June/July Update

The garage sale ended a month ago and I think NOW I have fully recovered :) Garage sales are a ton of work!! With the help from friends/family and many donations we had a GREAT turn out. We raised 663.00 to pay for Gabe's speech camps this summer. WAHOOOO!!!! He has gone to two camps thus far and has done a wonderful job .

The first one was to the living planet aquarium and there was 5 SLP's attending and about 5-6 kids with speech and language disorders. He was shy at first but they told me he did AMAZING and used his functional speech to communicate with the others. The therapist's are truly phenomenal at their jobs . They get these kids to communicate in ways that I will never know how.

I'm so grateful to the Wasatch Speech and Language Center for all that they do. They are speech whispers(that's my word:)The second outing was to the Hogle zoo. Gabe did a great job! Tom said "Gabe talked way more than he ever has." I was so proud. Side note:Tom is Maria's husband and is also an SLP. They run the center together and he is a guru in stuttering.

I want to thank everyone who donated to Gabe's Garage Sale. It was amazing to come home and see more bags full of items to sell from my wonderful church family. I received many beautiful handmade items to sell from my aunt Linda and great aunt Micky. My momma said "she can't make anything so she'll just send a check! LOL" My mother in law's entire(10%) wardrobe of clothing that sold the most. I laugh because Julie has 5 closets of clothes and the 10% she gave me actually filled my entire garage:) She has good clothes because they were flying off the shelves. All of my in laws donated so many items . THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

I want to add a new spot in my blog listing every one's name that has given something to Gabe's fund. I want Gabe to send out thank you notes to all of the people who have helped him. It's so important to me that he realizes the sacrifice others have made to help him find his voice. SO... that being said Gabe's Race is right around the corner JULY 15. We need volunteers!! ( 25 to be exact) so if you haven't already please go to www.legacymidnightrun.com and sign up !! We are making t-shirts and will order soon(more details to come) Please know how truly grateful we our and keep praying of our little Gabe in his journey.

March/April Update

It has been a crazy long two months in the Sandberg house. The winter months are never fun with 3 boys under the age of 7 . We are looking forward to spring but unfortunately here in Utah it will go from cold /rainy to super hot in a matter of days. Lets start with some positive news Gabe's speech is doing GREAT !!

He turned 5 in April and he's already letting me know that he will soon be 6. Why are kids so eager to grow up? He discovered what April fools day is all about. He tells me at least a dozen times a day "Mom, I just peed my pants?" and my response is "Are you serious?" and then in return he says, "April Fools" HAHAHAH . Gabe is our complicated splendor.

We feel that Gabe in some ways is frustrated being one that cannot say everything he wants however we know he is trying, learning and getting out everything he can. He is the sweetest boy however when it comes to Xander and brotherly conflicts he really will go to blows pretty quickly if things don't go his way. Part of that is normal I believe and some of this I think is amplified in that he can't defend himself with his words so he goes to his fists.

He does love his cousins and friends in a big way. We had a birthday party for him and his best buddy from school showed up and they all just played, talked and laughed together with him and all the other people at the party. One great thing is Gabe is loved by all that meet and know him. Over the past few months we have noticed his social skills speeding up as he is not shy to put his words out there and have fun with people he doesn't even know.

He is now showing signs of what is called Expressive language disorder and a Phonological disorder. Basically what means is he is missing some vocabulary. For example, when a person would say "I want to go to the park" Gabe in turn would say "I want to go Park now". It also could be a struggle for him to read and write later on. The good thing there is he does like to read and write so we are working on it daily. I know what you are all thinking How many freaking disorders can this kid have? We are ahead of the game and our prepared to take this on just like his speech . Maria has brought it to our attention and we are doing everything we can to help Gabe overcome this trial.

So in this regard I want to update everyone on our fundraising this year. The garage sale will be on May 20-21 if weather permits. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. I will even pick them up (801)-628-7274.

All proceeds will be put towards Gabe's therapy. This summer Maria offers seven Language & Social Skills Group Outings. Each outing cost 125.00 that insurance does not cover . He will simultaneously be doing his twice a week sessions as well. We are in awe with the support we have received thus far and our doing everything we can to think of more ways to cover the expense.

We are all preparing for the Midnight Legacy Run... Jordan is running his butt off and Xander joined a triathlon group to help him with his running, biking and swimming. We will be ready to have fun and show Gabe we love him by putting in the time and effort to train for this very special event. I too will be ready for the 15th and look forward to an emotional event.

The Legacy Midnight Run will take place July 15 for all those interested please visit www.legacymidnightrun.com use code GABE for 5$ off . We are also making t-shirts and will have more info to come. Thank you for all of the support .

Feb.Update

Gabe is working on the "G" and "C" movement right now in therapy. G's and C's are difficult. So when people ask him "What's your name?" He usually says nothing because one of the hardest sounds for him to make is G.

One of the ways we practice is by using a clean toothbrush and gently holding his lower jaw down and he says words like gum,cow,and gorilla. It really works !! Some other therapy methods that really work is using a ball and throwing it back and forth saying words like B-A-B-Y and M-O-N-K-E-Y. Gabe also likes to play the running/back flip game. He runs from end of the room and says a word and then runs to me and does a back flip. When Gabe is doing something active the words seem to flow better.

Its awesome to see all progress he is making. One of the things I always wanted to know when he was first diagnosed is what will Gabe sound like? What does apraxia and APD sound like? So I'm going to record Gabe's voice on the blog so others can hear as well. What is very interesting is to hear Gabe sing because I truly think that's the best way to show how Gabe's brain processes information. Thanks for all the support!!

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.

GRATEFUL

Blogging is so hard for me!! I never know what to say and if I'm saying it the right way BUT with Gabe's disability and fundraising I want to make sure I'm keeping everybody up to date and informed. I also want to keep this blog to show Gabe's progress to those who struggle with the same disability.

Gabe is WORKING his butt off. I know it sounds strange to say BUT for the past 2.5 yrs. of therapy every time he goes in we tell him to work hard. Because that is exactly what he has to do to get those words out. He has to work hard!

His last session Maria tested him again . What it basically says is Gabe sounds like a typical 2.5 year old but comprehends and acts like a 4.5 yrs. old. I know its frustrating for him to feel like a 4.5 year old but not be able to express himself clearly. Its hard to understand him and people always do a double-take when hearing him for the first time. Its gut wrenching when people ask "What's your name?" and he pulls my arm, bows his head and whispers to me "Help me"... I say "No tell them your name" and it takes a few minutes to get Gabe out and it doesn't even sound like his name. It's going to get better and Maria is the key to unlock Gabe's voice. This test gives Maria a roadmap of where to go from here. She has seen Gabe for 7 months and I have seen outstanding results and know there is more to come.

Well, in return Jordan and I are working hard and doing everything possible so that Gabe can get all the help he needs. I came up with the idea of the garage sale from a friend's recent adoption garage sale. I worked last year at a preschool and the money I made helped pay for Gabe's speech. Well, with the new addition to our family (Campbell) I'm no longer able to teach with a baby in the classroom. So in the fall I got the idea Why don't we throw an annual garage sale with donated items and use that money to pay for speech. Then the wheels started turning and Jordan decided to do a race as well. I never thought we would have so many people donate and sometimes simply write us a check to put towards Gabe's fund.

Words cannot even express how truly grateful we are. My Grandma Jo passed on our blog to an old friend of hers for prayers and in return this kind lady sent on a check . I have never even met this woman but I know she will forever be in my heart. God is truly amazing and I know he is looking out for us. We did not go into this looking for a free handout . We will work our butts off trying to do everything we can to help our son. The donations are amazing and we are so grateful for all the help we have received thus far. Thank You!! It will never be forgotten. I'm in the process of creating a list of the names of all those who have donated so Gabe can see all the people cheering him on to find his voice. My goal is to write every week on his progress and video his sweet voice for all of you to hear. To be continued...

Grateful

Half Marathon on the way!

After doing some research instead of doing our own race we have decided to jump into an established race that we can help sponsor. The race is called "Legacy Midnight Run"... it will have a 5k, 10k, and half marathon. Since I competed in my first Triathlon I have more or less said I have no interest in competing in long distance running like a marathon and will stick to the three sports that a Triathlon would offer. However with this race being for Gabey I have no choice but to step up to the big dog and do the half marathon.

We need to find 25 people to volunteer cheering people on, passing out food and helping clean up etc. We also are looking for anyone that would like to train and run this race with us. Hollie is going to run the 5k so any portion of the race you would like to run we would love to see you there.

This helps bring more motivation and inspiration to our healthy living and training. Thinking about running for this purpose makes us work harder. Our family will continue to come together for the greater cause and help him find his voice! Lets run for Gabey!

http://www.legacymidnightrun.com/

Gabe's Progress

Today was great day for Gabe!!! Maria (Gabe's therapist) retested him on his understanding of vocabulary basically its testing his intellect. Let me backtrack here a minute. He started seeing Maria in July of this year and have I mentioned how amazing she is because I could go on and on about her BUT this is about Gabe .

Well on the first visit she asked if he was ever tested to see where he actually stands in his age group when it comes to understanding vocabulary. In July he was 4 yrs.and 4mths and he ranged 2 yrs.and 4mths. I know it sound scary hearing those numbers but because Gabe was nonverbal until 3.5 yrs.of age how could he possibly understand vocabulary.

The great news today is Gabe now ranges 4.5 years of age HELLO Gabe is 4.5 years of age. He is average with his peers. Can you believe it? I am so proud of him.He has worked his little butt off trying to communicate and catch up. This doesn't mean he is cured. He has a long way to go just because he understands vocabulary doesn't mean he speaks at 4.5 yrs of age . Now his speech needs to catch up . I'm just so happy to post progress in anything. HOORAY FOR GABE!!

This will be Hollie’s blog primarily however I wanted to share a bit about how I have seen this unfold and some of the feelings I have had around my view of Gabe and his fight to push forward.

Our Doctor at the time kept telling us that it was cute that Gabe scooted on his butt and he would grow out of it soon. It got to the point where I just couldn't stand hearing the same old thing again so I had a heart to heart with our doctor. I told him that I knew he was not thinking about Gabe after hours, I knew he looked at his chart a few minutes before meeting with us and really just didn’t care more than bringing us in and getting us out. I told him we needed a doctor that would think about Gabe when we weren’t there and figure out how to help him push forward or we would be going elsewhere.

At this point I feel like things really began to move. Gabe was given lots of tests and concluded he had poor eye sight, low muscle tone, chronic ear infections and was most likely apraxic. After receiving tubes in his ears and glasses he began walking about 2 days later... At this point I almost went and slashed the tires of the doctors we had been dealing with but was thankful to get him walking and seeing better.

This is when we really began to understand that this would be a long haul of therapy and accepting that our child had a disability. I would tell myself and others that he would grow out of this soon and he is just like any other boy his age. I wanted to just deny the fact that there were things he may struggle with long term... I wanted to fix him and this situation so no one would ever associate him with a disability. I feared that he may be ridiculed in school and kids may call him a retard if he didn’t speak well. My heart broke thinking that I at one time in the past would have done the same to a kid in my early years (Jr. High).

One day I took Xander and Gabe to the Apple store at the Gateway to get a macbook.... it was a madhouse of people and craziness. Xander and Gabe were fighting and running around the store and I just wanted to get out of there but had to wait for someone to come and sell me the machine. I was standing by a person for a few minutes and once I got the boys to settle down I was talking with Gabe... he was responding with babble and grunts... the lady asked me if he was retarded. I looked at her for about 30 seconds, grit my teeth and clenched my fists and said “why would you say that?”. It was clear that I didn’t want a response and I just shook my head at her, mumbled a few horrible words and walked away.

I met up with Hollie about 15 minutes later at the food court... when I told Hollie what had happened I broke down and cried. I thought if this is what Gabe has to look forward to I am going to end up in jail for seriously mangling someone and I can’t allow Gabe to ever be mocked like that. Luckily Gabe was only about 2 years old so he didn’t understand any of this interaction.

Since that moment I have been outside my mind determined to put this overwhelming energy to educating his family and helping him overcome his disability. We have had him in speech therapy for 2 1/2 years and we are now getting prepared to send him to a Montessori school once he gets into 1st grade. Hollie and I have become speech and hearing experts and have joined some support groups to help us work through this. We are also beginning to raise money by selling things on Ebay and KSL for people that have things they would normally be taking to the DI or throwing away. We are also arranging a race that I hope to put on each year to raise money to help pay for therapy and his schooling.

Hollie and I have really come together to work as a team to help Gabe and enable him to find his voice. He progresses every day and in my heart of hearts I know he will have a productive life, touch many people and serve the lord in ways that us “normal” people cannot. I think back to my time in Colombia and learning the spanish language. Debate this or not I was a smart capable person that when not able to speak or communicate effectively was treated like a dummy. People would not speak to me unless I forced them to because they couldn't understand me... I became obsessed with learning that language and dang near beat people up to speak to me thus helping me learn and progress much faster than what was considered normal. This is what we are trying to pass on to Gabey. We want to speak his heart out even if it is not totally understandable and people may have to strain to get it. We want to see him be confident in his ability to learn and grow over this trial and show himself and the world that nothing can keep him down.

Other than his speech he is just like any other boy his age. He burps, farts, plays, fights, even reads, flirts with girls, reasons, learns new things and interacts well with others..... He just can’t speak completely and we are working on that!

I am proud of my Gabey and know that with the help of our Heavenly Father and the village that surrounds us he will overcome this and get the last laugh!

Thank you for reading this post. Our family will remember forever who helps us and will hold a special place in our hearts forever.

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