On Sunday, April 7, Kelly Knock and Melissa Leslie represented Monument Sotheby’s International Realty at the Ronald McDonald House Red Shoe Shuffle 5k charity run-walk. The race was the last Red Shoe Shuffle at their Lexington Street location before officially opening the new RMH in Historic Jonestown at 1 Aisquith Street. As a special moment to the day, Kelly and Melissa were able to walk in honor of Aiden Brown, who recently passed. Aiden’s mother, Tina Brown, and family friends drove from Indiana to join the walk. Tina had been taking Aiden to the RMH since 2012 to bring him to Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) for therapy for spinal cord injuries he obtained in a car accident at the age of 13 months. Tina and her husband Steve fostered Aiden and adopted him in 2012 and began the journey of his recovery. Through the amazing therapists and technology at KKI Aiden was able to use equipment to help him move his limbs and make steps towards walking.
Kelly met Tina and Aiden in April of 2014 through her career prior to life as an agent. She kept in touch with them and visited them every April and October when they came to Baltimore, joining them for therapy at KKI and enjoying evening visits at the Ronald McDonald House. Aiden left an unforgettable mark on her heart and she is grateful she had the chance to know and be inspired by someone so special. Kelly appreciated the chance to walk in honor of Aiden with Tina and his friends, and to also be joined by the support of Monument Sotheby’s International Realty. Aiden was a true superhero – he loved Superman so we all wore the red & blue in honor of him!
If you would like to support Aiden’s family with the costs of his service and headstone and statue in his honor please click here:
Aiden was on the cover of the Ronald McDonald House’s 2018 in Review and an excerpt from that story is included here if you want to read more about his incredible life:
“At the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore (RMHCB), we see our fair share of real-life superheroes. Stee, Tina, and Aiden Brown are three of them. When Steve and Tina Brown got married, they both had two boys from previous marriages and soon became foster parents. One day, they received a call that would change their lives – and the life of one very special boy – forever.
On February 26, 2010, the Department of Child Services called the Browns to see if they would be interested in taking a medically fragile child into their home. The child’s name was Aiden. Just 13 months old at the time, he had sustained a rare cervical spine injury called Atlanto-occipital dislocation in a car accident. This injury is also known as internal decapitation because of the ligamentous separation of the spinal column from the skull base. It’s usually fatal, but Aiden survived.
The Browns didn’t hesitate to say yes and fell in love with Aiden the moment they met him. While the nurse practitioner advised them to hold off on making a decision until they fully understood Aiden’s injuries and car requirements, they never wavered. After a month of training and preparing their house, they brought Aiden home and proceeded to fall more in love with him every day. On July 29, 2012, they made Aiden their forever son and gave him the name Levi Aiden Michael Brown. Tina Brown explains, ‘His initials L.A.M.B. symbolize gentleness, innocence, and purity in the Bible. Aiden is our baby lamb.’ Seven months after adopting Aiden, the Browns adopted their daughter Alyssa, now 21, whois a quadriplegic. They are also foster parents to a 10-year old boy.
Tina began bringing Aiden to Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore for therapy in 2012. The Browns would not have been able to afford the trip without RMHCB. Every six months, they drive 12-14 hours from Indiana to Baltimore with a vanload of medical equipment. According to Tina, ‘Ronald McDonald House and all of the staff are our family and our home-away-from-home. They always welcome us with open arms and take care of everything. When it is time to head home, we end up standing in the doorway hugging and crying because we will miss our family.’”