Random act of kindness

Eve of Gait Lab snuggling with Dad before bed


Early breakfast of juice and Cheerios in the car, yes its still dark out!



waiting for appt, wheeling myself around


pics in the gait lab, and after taking a break with the cars I got as a prize after walking for 2 hours, i picked a blue and red matchbox car. relaxing with a magazine after a busy morning


Today was Mark Henry's gait lab assessment at Mayo Clinic. He did amazingly well. His legs were hooked up with various sensors and he walked holding hands and then in his walker for several hours while they videotaped and observed his movement.
He was just in a diaper and t- shirt so they could easily see his legs and movement. But the room including the floors were heated and he loved the space to move. There was an area in the center of the room taped like a path or runway in front of the main cameras so we tried to keep him going in a straight line up and down so they could capture the best data. There were also cameras overhead capturing his and our every move! Three people worked with him and wrote down various notes while we encouraged him with toys, books, magazines and paper to continue to move in front of the cameras.The team of doctors will now review the testing and meet in conference to determine if he is an ideal candidate for the selective dorsal rhizotomy.

We had to be at mayo by 9am so we left home by 6:30am for the hour and half drive. I had to wake him up but he awoke with a smile and helped me dress him. He had his apple juice and Cheerios in the car. Once we got to the clinic we went to the cafeteria to get some coffee and gave him some mini muffins, his current favorite breakfast food! Wanted to be sure he was fueled up and ready to work, we knew he'd be walking for several hours!

After the test was over we were tired and I could tell he was as well as there was no fight to get him back in his wheelchair. We then went to get some lunch. While we were sitting having lunch the most amazing thing happened. A woman out of nowhere came up to us with a brown paper gift bag and said" I had good news this morning about my prognosis and wanted to give him a gift." Inside the bag was a brand new toy. I didn't know what to say, here was a random stranger with a random act of kindness. She asked his name and I told her, as well as abit about him and his disabilities. He gave her a huge smile. She said this was her first time at Mayo Clinic and she had just got some great
news about her prognosis. I asked her name and she said , Jan. I told her that was my mothers name. I thanked her and asked if I could give her a hug. No sooner did I Give her a hug and thanked her, she had tears in her eyes and was gone.

Still in awe we finished our lunch and began to think about this gift. Why had she chosen us. Did she see us and go get the gift, or did sheget the gift and then find someone to give it to? No one knows. We immediately wanted to pay it forward. We contemplated buying someone behind us ice cream at the icream shop. But then thought better of it and decided as spontaneous as this was, our random act of kindness would have to wait and we would know the right moment to pay it forward.

Mark Henry is a true magnet, all day people, strangers were coming up to us and saying hello and were generally interested in him. He is just so sweet he draws them in. He smiles and waves to everyone as we wheel around the clinic. He is an angel and people notice.
Today he was gifted by another angel, Jan. It made his day and ours!