Aaron’s Prayers Are Answered

14-year-old Aaron is on cloud nine these days. Wednesday, he and his mother, Mitzi Roden, were in Florida when state lawmakers approved a $15 million settlement for them.

They have been waiting for the money since they won a 2007 lawsuit against a Florida State Hospital. A medical mistake at birth in Florida left the Canon City teen in a wheelchair. I introduced you to him in December when they were in the midst of a letter writing campaign to lawmakers to get them to approve the money.

Mitzi on the phone from Florida told me after the vote, “Aaron was ecstatic. He was basically yelling and screaming in joy and delight.” State Lawmakers gave Aaron a standing ovation after the vote. Mitzi Roden wanted to tell them individually her thanks for giving her family a new start and new hope for the future.

The $15 million still has to be signed into law by Florida’s Governor. When it’s approved, it means a lump sum of $10 million to be disbursed sometime in 2012. The remaining $5 million will be doled out, $1 million a year for five years.

$650,000 of this money will be used right away for one key special need for Aaron. He and his mom want to purchase a special computer so Aaron can use his eyes instead of his hands to communicate on his current computer. He has to punch the keys on his current computer to speak. This is a high tech computer that will take a year of specialized training for Aaron to learn how to master it.