At only three months old, Noah was violently shaken while in the care of his birth parents. He suffered a fractured skull, fractured ribs and bleeding throughout his newly forming brain. Not only did Noah have to fight for his life to recover from these heinous injuries, he had to do it alone as his birth family quickly lost custody of him.
It was in the foster system that Noah met his soon to be forever-mommy, Laurie Suter. When Laurie met Noah he had severe global developmental delays, cerebral palsy, was g-tube dependent and non-verbal. Obviously, she instantly fell in love.
Laurie not only fostered Noah, but she eventually was able to legally adopt him after years of fighting for him. Laurie was a catalyst in his incredible recovery that continues still today. At home with his true family now, Noah is deeply loved and lives with his mom and three older siblings (all adopted special needs kids, too) in New Hampshire.
“Just last year, at 6 years old, Noah learned to walk on his own and no longer requires a wheel chair for short journeys,” Laurie happily told us.
Additionally, Noah has learned to communicate with a special device called Novachat and has even started to speak a few words on his own. He’s progressing leaps and bounds but is in need of better home therapy equipment to continue his progress.
Noah gets a taste of “Freedom” as he takes his brand new Freedom Concepts bike for a spin around his neighborhood.
Holton’s Heroes was able to purchase Noah a custom-made Freedom Concepts bike to help with his gross motor skills—and to let him feel like every other boy in his neighborhood. While the physical therapy this bike offers is incredible, it’s the gift of allowing Noah to feel like everyone else that makes this such a special item.
“He loves his new bike and did so amazing riding! He was full of smiles and me too!” Laurie wrote to us after receiving the new yellow racer with custom front plate. “He cried when he had to get off [but] he will be riding again today after church.”
We are also sponsoring Noah at a special needs camp for one week this summer where he will be able to take part in activities often reserved for able-bodied children. We’ll be sure to update photos of Noah at camp on our instagram page.
“Thanks again for making this possible! We really appreciate what Holton’s Heroes has done for Noah!! Now he can ride a bike just like any other child.”
Noah's mom Laurie takes time to thank Holton's Heroes and their generous donors who helped get Noah his very own custom-made special needs bike by Freedom Concepts.
