Support Josiah

Friday Funding Update:
January 27, 2017

We are at $43,069.31!!!!!  Our goal of $60,000 once seemed impossible to raise, and now it is starting to sink in that this is really happening. If we can continue raising funding at this steady rate, there is a great possibility that all the funds will come in by the end of May, if not before. THAT BLOWS MY MIND! Your generosity has been such a tremendous encouragement to our family!!! And this project is going to make such a difference in Josiah's life! 

Please continue to Pray! As I mentioned last week, our petition for additional home modifications was denied. People have asked why. The committee saw Josiah's needs. That was a no-brainer. But there is a stipulation that the home modifications cannot be seen as new construction. One of the things we were requesting is that the waiver fund a bathroom in the therapy room. Josiah is still incontinent. For purposes of protecting him, I will not go into the many reasons why a bathroom is needed. But, especially looking towards the future, it will be necessary to have a bathroom in this space if at all possible. We are submitting another petition in the next few weeks that hopefully will be approved. I always feel the need to clarify when I post about this petition. We started this fundraiser to help us complete this project, but we knew there were a few things that we could request funding for via the waiver. The bathroom, padding on the floor and walls to protect Josiah's head during self-injury, and shatterproof windows are the items that we are trying to get funded via the waiver. Please pray with us as we work to submit another petition for these safety features. 

This week has been wonderful overall in terms of Josiah's ability to tolerate life. He has had several days with little to no self-injury. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful it is when he has a day where he doesn't hurt himself. 

My Mama took Jalen to the Graham police department to visit this week. Elopement or running away is such an issue for our boys. It is the leading cause of death for children their age on the spectrum. We want the boys to be comfortable around police officers, and we want our local police officers to recognize our boys in case they ever elope. The plan is for a few officers to come to the house someday soon to visit with Josiah. I can't thank Graham PD enough for being so welcoming and for recognizing how important this is to the safety of our family!

I know I probably sound like a broken record each Friday, but we are so exceptionally grateful to everyone who is supporting us through this project. It is impossible to fully convey how much it means to us all! THANK YOU!

Because of His grace,

Christy