Adam was born 8 weeks premature in New Orleans, La.   He weighed only 2 lbs. and 8 ozs.   He was transferred to Children's Hospital where they inserted a shunt and checked his vision and hearing.  His hearing was inconclusive which was later found to be severe/profoundly deaf at age six.  He was fitted for hearing aids and glasses.  Adam had an abduction release, which allowed him to stand taller.

     Being very active, Adam loves to be outside walking with the aid of his walker, listening to the birds chirp and watching the squirrels play.  He began having trouble maintaining balance and began falling a lot.  His muscles were tightening which made him stand in a crouched position.  In 1999, a wonderful man dressed as Santa saw Adam.  He said he was a "Shriner"  and asked us to leave our name and phone number with him.  A couple of days later, the man called to say he wanted to sponsor Adam to become a Shriners' patient,  for assistance with his needs.

     After his visit to the Shriners' Hospital in Shreveport, it was decided for Adam to have surgery in Feb. to give him his best opportunity to walk unassisted.  The surgery and rehab was very painful and hard work on the entire family.  However, today  we are very pleased to see Adam standing straight and tall again.  He is cruising along furniture and standing briefly unassisted.  We are looking forward to his progress in the coming year and give many thanks to God and all of the staff at Shriners' Hospital, Shreveport, La.

UPDATE:

     Adam and his mom Hazel recently paid a visit to our county.  They came to visit Daron and his mom Sonja.  It was great to see Adam "cruising" around the Dixie Youth Ball Park in Bude.  He was so energetic and curious, having to stop to investigate every thing, even the garbage cans.  He touched everything within reach and especially loved to make the fence rattle against the sponsors signs in the outfield.

     We hope to see more of Adam in the future and keep updated on his progress.