Remembering Isaac

Isaac was born to his parents after years of struggle and fertility assistance.  He was named after his two wonderful grandparents, Isaac “Lynn” Bahme and Dennis Lytle.  He was a happy baby who brought immense joy to his entire family.  At approximately 15 months of age, Isaac began becoming more withdrawn, was not responding to sound and began exhibiting symptoms of anxiety.  His family quickly recognized that these were red flags for autism and he immediately began speech, occupational and DIR therapies.  At 18 months old, Isaac received a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

 The months and years following Isaac’s diagnosis was a mix of joyous progress and frustrating setbacks.  Isaac’s parents quickly discovered that insurance benefits did not extend to children diagnosed with autism and that the cost of providing Isaac’s basic therapy needs would cost approximately $40,000 per year.

Isaac’s mother began working from home and paid therapists to teach her the therapy techniques needed to help Isaac fight autism.  After months of hard work and hours of home therapy with his parents, Isaac began to improve.  He began making eye contact, started to enjoy school and interact with classmates and he began to speak.

Not realizing that their time with Isaac would tragically be cut short, Isaac’s parents kissed their loving and bright eyed boy goodnight and in the wee hours of the morning on February 8, 2007, Isaac quietly passed away in his sleep from an undetected genetic heart defect, not related to autism.  Isaac was just a few weeks from celebrating his fourth birthday. 

Looking back, Isaac’s parents prefer to remember all of the good times they shared with him.  His family fondly remembers Isaac for his passion for music.  His favorite musicians were the Wiggles and Backyardigans.  He also enjoyed almost every song performed by Johnny Cash but was particularly fond of “Ring of Fire.”  His favorite movie was “Finding Nemo” but would hide in his room during the opening scene of the movie (when Nemo’s mother Coral is attacked by the Barracuda Fish).  His family laughs when they remember how quickly he learned to use the DVD remote so that he could fast forward the movie past this opening scene to eliminated his need to hide in his room.  They also remember what a huge fan he was of Mickey Mouse, yet always referred to him as a “kitty”. 

They smile when they remember the joyous day when he learned to say “Super Cheers” which is a frequent slogan on “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” which was one of his favorite cartoons.  As with all children, Isaac loved his junk food.  His family can easily list off a list of his particular favorites which were items such as popcorn, soda, milkshakes, ice cream, popsicles, pizza and any candy he could get his hands on.  But his most beloved junk food of all was McDonald’s French Fries.  Isaac’s parents laugh as they remember his instinctual knowledge of every McDonald’s location in Spokane – and he paid close attention anytime he was in the car.  If you passed a McDonald’s without stopping for French fries, he would yell in protest from the back seat.  Some of his family’s most cherished possessions are Isaac’s collection of beloved toy trains and cars. 

It is not hard to look at Isaac’s short life to see all of the blessings and gifts that he left behind.  The ISAAC Foundation, is just one of many of these blessings.  One only needs to look at the faces of the many children in our community that have been helped through the work of The ISAAC Foundation to see that he left behind the blessing of a legacy that will last a lifetime.