This weekend we took the kids to Masanutten and I can now add skiing to the list of the things that Alex has done that her Mommy never has. That list seems to be getting longer and longer these days!
Last year my friends Missy and Helen told me about and organization called Therapeutic Adventures that provided ski opportunities for their daughters Chloe and Kara and other kids like ours in wheelchairs. They went several times last year and couldn't say enough about the program so this year we bundled up and hit the slopes!!
I always want to provide Alex with the opportunities to experience things just like any other kids would, but I will be honest, I never thought skiing would be one of them.
The day was a win/win, Alex and Zach got to experience new adventures and I got to spend the day with some awesome moms and their kids.
Jen, (me), Missy, Helen and Cat
Reed ~ Jen's son
Chloe ~ Missy's daughter
Kara ~ Helen's daughter
Kara is also Little Miss Wheelchair for Virginia so she also sported her crown and tiara on the slopes!
Jim ~ Cat's son
I'm not going to lie, we were super nervous about how this was going to work. Aaron was not thrilled with the idea, at all! It's one thing to do something with your kids, but when you have to totally rely on someone else, someone that you don't even know, to take your child up a mountain and depend on them to bring them back down in one piece is pretty nerve wracking.
We got her all bundled up and as warm as possible...
....and Daddy carried her to her ski chair....
...
...and triple checked that all buckles and straps were securely in place!
Then it was time to meet Bethany, her ski buddy for the day.
After a final strap and buckle check...
...Daddy helped push her off to head to the ski lift.
And then all we could do was say a prayer, hold our breath, and just watch!
...and here she comes!!
A big thanks to Helen for this picture - I missed her coming down several times!
After her first run I could not tell if she liked it at all. Bethany said she was very nervous on the ski lift when they got to the top. I couldn't decide if I wanted to feel bad for her or be so happy that cognitively she got that she was high up and it's a scary thing!
It's really neat to watch how they stop the ski lift for the kids and how they give them as much time as they need - it takes a while for them to come back down the mountain from the time they go up and I never did gauge the time right. We had Tammy with us and she was a pro at figuring it out by the end of the day.
She did two runs and then we brought her back into the ski lodge to eat and warm up. After she was warm and had a full belly she answered our questions and said she had fun - and she was really loud and animated after that too.
After her break it was time to bundle back up and head out for a few more runs. (And I think Aaron was finally a little more at ease - he's actually smiling there in the background!) :)
While Alex was doing her thing Zach got all suited up decided he wanted to try snowboarding.
Aaron went and got his snowboard and ski lift pass and then helped him into the snow board.
Standing, not too bad...
Whoops...
Daddy helped him back up...
Whoops!
After a few more feeble attempts Ms. Sarah Ann came by - Sarah Ann works for Hope Therapy where Alex does her physical therapy and was one of the volunteers helping with Therapeutic Adventures. Back in the day Sarah Ann did quite a bit of snow boarding and she gave Zach an impromptu lesson on what to do and what not to do.
Then, viola, he was off!
And oh so proud of himself!
And so were Mommy and Daddy!
After a few tries on a little slope he decided he was ready to hit the ski lift and head to the top of the mountain!
When we travel it's sometimes hard to accommodate Alex because she can't sleep in a regular bed - she has no sense of boundaries and will just roll right off - if we can push a bed against the wall we can use a bed rail but if not we have to use an air mattress. This trip we had to use the air mattress and she did not sleep well Friday night at all - well, none of us did, actually! She was so tired Saturday evening I decided to put her in our bed and it seemed to do the trick - she slept for a solid 6 1/2 hours without moving a muscle. Unfortunately for me, she fell asleep at 6PM so that meant we were awake off and on from midnight on. At one point Zach and I had gone in to check on her to make sure she was still safe and secure and she was sleeping with a huge smile on her face. Zach asked me if I thought she was dreaming about her day skiing, of course I have no idea what she was dreaming about but I'd like to think she was and that we made her happy.
Sunday before we headed home the boys tried out the zip line.
I was originally going to try it with Zach, but then I chickened out and decided it would be better if Aaron went!
I was happy to have kept both feet on the ground and watch. Zach loved it and although there were a million more things he wanted to do before we headed home, he was pretty happy that he got to experience two new activities.
The resort has so many things to do and I was bummed that we had to leave on Sunday since we had the unit for the whole week. We had planned to take Zach out and do a few things Saturday night, but by the time Zach was done snow boarding and we cooked dinner, we were all tired and just vegged out for the rest of the night. We're definitely going to go back in a few weeks and take advantage of what the resort has to offer.
Regardless, we had a fun time, it was great to watch the kids experience new things and see them happy.
In the end, we made memories, and that's all that matters!
A big thank you to Mark and the volunteers with Therapeutic Adventures. I am always amazed at programs like these and the people that volunteer their time so freely and with such passion for the sake of others. It's an incredible blessing and we are so grateful to be on the receiving end so that we can give Alex the best life she can have.
1 comment:
Wow! What a wonderful experience! So glad Alex got to benefit from this program.
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