Adaptive Sports Extravaganza!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We are so blessed to live in an area that offers a variety of adaptive sporting events. There are so  many opportunities that we can't even begin to do them all but we try to hit up as many as we can. Every year we take the boys to a local event that offers a variety of adaptive sports including cycling, water skiing, tennis, archery, etc. That event was this past weekend.

Caleb trying disc golf. He actually enjoyed this quite a bit. We learned that there are quite a few disc golf courses in our area (who knew?).

Benjamin enjoying a little disc golf too!

Now this is just cool. I have never seen anything like it. The entire side of the truck comes out!

Seriously, how cool is that! We so need one of these. I was too scared to ask how much something like this would cost. I imagine it is ridiculous.

He enjoyed sitting behind the wheel. I told him not to honk the horn...what do you think he then did about 15 times in a row? Yep, honked the horn.

While Caleb was trying a little wheelchair tennis, I took Benjamin out to the playground.

Throwing sticks into the lake.

Sticks were flying everywhere.

Yep, that's a pink BB gun. He's actually a pretty good shot.

Kickin' off summer bash!

We are very blessed to live in an area that has some great adaptive sports events. One of our favorites is the Rise Adaptive Sports: Kickin' Off Summer Bash. We go every year and it is always a great time. The event takes place on the lake and they have a variety of adaptive events to try.

Our first stop: Shooting a BB gun.

I love those 2 little freckles on the back of his ear.

We were headed to the next activity and then Caleb saw this:

Yep, they had a skate ramp.

We couldn't get Caleb off this thing. He just wanted to do it over and over and over.

 He had so much fun.

He got quite a bit of ramp time before we literally had to drag him away so someone else could have a turn.

The robot was a big hit.

The petting zoo served as a nice distraction before Caleb insisted on doing the skate ramp again.

He got to see his buddy Bryce.

Benjamin fell in love with the bunnies. And I mean in love.

Seriously, Benjamin is quite smitten with the bunnies. He has not stopped talking about them. The boy really wants a pet bunny now. He is very specific about the kind of bunny he wants. He wants a black and white bunny and he is going to name it "Hot Wheels" because "bunnies are really fast".

We had a really great time at the event. The boys had so much fun. And, I left there convinced that we need to build Caleb his very own skate ramp in our backyard and Benjamin needs a pet bunny. Stay tuned to see how that pans out. :)

Fitted for KAFO's

Three months ago Caleb saw his ortho doctor and I asked for KAFO's (Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthosis). I wanted them because I could see that Caleb was motivated to walk, he wanted to walk, but his knees just can't take him more than a few steps. The ortho fought me a little on the KAFO's at that time, and gave us knee immobilizers instead. The knee immobilizers seemed promising at first but I quickly realized that they weren't the right thing for Caleb. It seemed like they hindered more than they helped.

So today we went back to ortho and I had already decided that I wasn't leaving there until Caleb had been fitted for some KAFO's. Mama Bear was ready to fight...well I didn't have to. Ortho agreed and Caleb was fitted for KAFO's and a new pair of AFO's (he has outgrown his current pair).

He was fitted for AFO's first.

Next came the KAFO fitting. This took quite some time. Thank goodness for the Ipod.

Cutting the cast off.

A perfect mold of his leg. Pretty cool.

We pick up the braces at the end of May. I can't wait to see how the KAFO's turn out. 

Life Rolls On: They Will Skate Again

So last year Caleb had the opportunity to try some "extreme sitting" at the Life Rolls On: They will skate again event, hosted by Rise Adaptive Sports. He had a blast and has talked about it almost weekly for the past year. He was so excited to learn that the event was coming to our area again this year. So Saturday we headed out so Caleb could shred it at the skate park.

Sportin' his new "Wheelz" t-shirt. It seemed appropriate.

(good grief, could this kid be any bigger!)

Stalling at the top of a ramp...not too sure he wants to go down.

Sometimes even a 7 year old needs to hold Daddy's hand.

Sometimes you need a little pep talk from an experienced extreme sitter. A big thank you to Christiaan Bailey for offering his time on Saturday.

Sometimes you need a little push too.

All smiles.

Um...that ramp is a little steep folks. Don't worry, there were a ton of volunteers out there to help the kids up and down the ramps.

Take a wheelchair down some steps? Hmmm...what could possibly go wrong here?

It ain't extreme sitting until you flip over in your chair and take a volunteer down with you. Don't worry, he was fine. Lesson: Wheelchairs and stairs are not friends.

Benjamin had his own kind of fun.

Putting leaves down a drain hole.

Running up ramps.

Caleb had so much fun. He was most upset when it was time to go. I'm so thankful he has these opportunities. It is so fun to watch him challenge himself and try new things.

We had a fantastic day.

Tethered Cord Surgery...One year later

Wow. Has it really been a year already? I just need to let that soak in a bit. It has not been an easy year, and the truth is that Caleb is not where I expected him to be. I never dreamed we would be a year out from surgery and he still wouldn't have gained back the function he had prior to surgery. That stings a bit...it's been stinging for a year now.

I remember sitting down with Caleb a couple of days before he was scheduled to have surgery. I explained to him the reasons he needed surgery and I promised that the surgery would help him. I told him that the surgery would help him walk better. I feel like I mislead him.

I didn't know he would have to start all over. I didn't know that he would lose everything that he had worked so hard to gain. I wasn't prepared for that. I didn't prepare him for that.

I just told him what everyone had told me. I was told that the recovery would take weeks, not months, and certainly not a year. I wish I had been better prepared for what could be. I wish someone had told me, had prepared me, so that I could have done a better job at preparing him.

Despite the fact that we had to start at the bottom of the mountain, despite the fact that we have already climbed this mountain before, Caleb has been a trooper. He always has been. He has pushed through physical therapy 3 times a week. Every week, for the past year.

He works hard. He may not be where he was and he may not ever gain back the function he had. But let me tell you, it isn't for lack of trying. He has given everything he has. I am in awe of him.

(he's a fantastic speller by the way)

Yep, that about sums him up.