Don’t Let It Get To You

Isaiah is pretty lucky; it seems wherever John and I go or whatever we do he gets to come with. We rarely go anywhere without Isaiah. And with his van and wheelchair, it is so easy to bring him with us. He goes to the grocery store with us, shopping, out to eat (where he always gets a little taste of whatever we are eating), and to anywhere else we may go.

Throughout any field trips we may take, Isaiah usually has his big smile plastered on his adorable face. He is happy to be out and about, doing whatever it is we may be doing. Isaiah looks at the world with those big, innocent eyes and takes everything in. He doesn’t judge anyone, and he thinks everyone should be his friend. What a world we would live in if everyone were so kind.

Which brings met to this point: adults, as well as children, can be cruel. Although Isaiah is still small, we have to deal with dirty looks and hushed remarks a lot of places we go.

First, the kids. Smaller children usually just have no filters and don’t mean to be cruel when they ask questions, but it still stings. We hear kids ask their parents all kinds of questions. “Why is that kid in a wheelchair?” “What’s wrong with him?” “Why can’t he walk?” “Why is he wearing gloves?” Most of the time the parents just tell them to shush, which, in my opinion, is not the best way to do it. They get embarassed. It’s not embarassing: this is the way God made him.

While their questions are just out of pure curiosity, it still hurts a little. So do the stares. Last week we literally witnessed a little girl walk smack into a wall because she was too busy staring at Isaiah to watch where she was going. Isaiah is a person, just like you and I. He doesn’t need to be treated any differently. Although, again, with kids it is just out of curiosity most of the time.

But the adults: seriously. Learn some respect. The last thing I want to be bothered by while standing in line at the grocery store is watching you stare at my kid with a wrinkled up, dirty look on your face while Isaiah is just smiling at you. Smile back at him. Show some courtesy. Say hello. Give him a wave. He lives for this interaction, but sadly, most people won’t even acknowledge him.

I say most people because there are still some wonderful strangers in this world that know how to be kind to everyone. Isaiah loves it when someone approaches him and smiles or waves at him and says hi. It makes his day. He is adorable; feel free to look at him all you want as long as you are interacting with him and not giving him a dirty look.

At the end of the day, all I can say to myself is “Don’t let it get to you.” There are kind people, and there are cruel people, everywhere we go. I am confident in our parenting and in all that we do for Isaiah and those rude strangers who don’t know our story have no right to make me feel bad. We have bigger fish to fry.

Summer Fun

It has been a busy summer! I can hardly believe it's already a week into July. Where does the time go? We've been staying busy this summer, spending lots of time with our friends and family. I've been trying to find fun things to do with Isaiah that are engaging and that he can participate in.

One of our favorites is going to the zoo. Isaiah's face lights up when he gets to see animals up close. He really loves the big aquarium, the bears, and the monkeys. The first time we walked away from the monkeys I told him to say goodbye and he started pouting and had a tear in his eye. What a goof!

Isaiah also enjoys spending time in the water. He's always loved his baths. We were recently able to get in the pool at Grandma's house and he thought that was pretty awesome. I found a pool therapy float for him that goes around his neck to keep his head above water while he can freely move his limbs. He didn't mind the float, but it was a little big for him and therefore couldn't be trusted to hold him up on it's own. Still helpful though. We'll have to try it again soon. We would have tried the lake last weekend, but it was chilly and Isaiah doesn't appreciate being cold and wet.

Isaiah loves to ride Grandpa's four-wheeler. As soon as he hears it start up, his legs go flying and he screams and giggles. We have no choice but to take him for a ride. But don't worry, we hold on tight, don't go far, and drive really slow. He thinks it is one of the greatest things on earth. He doesn't stop smiling and laughing the whole ride.

Isaiah may not be able to do as many things as other kids his age, but his joy for life and true happiness make up for any physical disabilities that he has. We are so blessed to be Isaiah's parents and we thank God for this special blessing every day of our lives.

New Home

We made it into our new home! It's been a couple of weeks and we are about halfway settled in. Our main living level is livable, so we can take our time organizing the basement. We are loving this little rambler! The floors are hardwood and tile in the upstairs, so we don't have to worry about his wheelchair tires messing up any carpet. It's so nice to be able to put him in his chair and wheel him around the house as you go about your day, because he really likes to be wherever you are. We added a ramp in the garage for now, until we get a permanent one built in the front.

We decided to take a little break from therapy for the summer. We have learned a lot of things that we can work on at home, and it is nice to not have to run to multiple appointments every week. He hasn't made too much progress lately, so we hope that talking a little break and working on what we know for a while will help him later on.

Two More Weeks

Well, it's official. We will be moving in two weeks, pending that the closings go well on our current home and our new house. We aren't going far, just a few miles away into a house that will work better for Isaiah. We haven't really started packing yet; it's really hard to find time to do it and I'm not super motivated. I'm really excited for it to be over though!

Isaiah is doing well. We've been working on using switches for communication. He has a button he can push that says "more" and another that says "all done" so he can let us know what he likes to play with. He is getting better with practice and is able to get his arms to push the buttons about half of the time that we use them. You can tell he gets excited when he does it, which is super adorable. It's easiest to do this in his wheelchair, which we can't get in the house now, so it will get much better after our move.

Spring Changes

We are in for some changes this spring. Based on the fact that Isaiah's wheelchair isn't going to work in our house, we decided to put it on the market. Which means we will also be looking for a new house that will work for Isaiah. Isn't he a lucky boy? New house, new van, all just for him. I'm a little sad because I love my house and neighborhood now. When we moved here, I picked it because I thought I wouldn't have to move again for a long time. Just goes to show how one special little guy can change your entire life. I would do anything for him.

While we are used to being stressed, the stress of selling our house takes a normal stress level and multiplies it by 100. We have to have it constantly picked up and clean, we have to leave for showings, and now we have had a couple offers and had to go through inspections and the whole deal. We are waiting to hear back on it still. I just want to get it over with. Moving is also stressful and I just want to get settled in somewhere that Isaiah can be mobile and our live can be easier.

Here's a pic of the cutie to tide you over until next time.

Wheelchair

This post is long overdue. Isaiah got his wheelchair a couple of weeks ago and it is AWESOME. He sits so well in it and seems to be really comfortable. He likes to give me the look like "Yeah mom, I'm a big boy!"

So the wheelchair is great, but we aren't able to take it into and our of our split-level house. John can get it up and down the stairs, but it's really hard. More to come on this...

And the Winner is...

A MINIVAN!

Ok, there were way too many pros vs. cons of getting the minivan. Apparently my "coolness" factor doesn't hold a candle to the praticality of the minivan. Whatever. They are kind of badass in their own special way.

A spot of good news for this Thursday morning... we have been approved for a CADI waiver for Isaiah! This means that we will be awarded funds to help us pay to have our minivan modified to accept Isaiah's wheelchair, and we will be able to make some improvements to our house to make it accessible, and it will be paid for on our behalf. We are so blessed!

I can't wait to cruise the streets with my little Isaiah smilin' in the back of our sweet minivan watching Max and Ruby. We haven't picked out our van yet, but we are pre-approved for our car loan so it's only a matter of time. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as it happens. In the meantime, here is a cute one of Isaiah!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a blessed Christmas!

Love,
Isaiah, Leslie & John

It's the Holiday Season

Well I decided I must be getting old this month. I used to LOVE decorating for the holidays. Getting the tree out, putting on all the ornaments, putting out other Christmas decorations and making the house look festive. This year, all I could think about was how dreadful it would be to have to put all these things away after Christmas. And dust and vacuum around them. I might be turning into a Grinch. But we put our stuff out anyways.

We are still working on getting Isaiah a wheelchair. We finally got to try one we like last week, and decided to order it. It’s called the Zippie Iris. It has all the features we really wanted. It’s super adjustable, it has tilt, it has the smaller wheels, and it is relatively compact. It could take up to a month to get the actual wheelchair, and then it could take a month to have the custom seating done. So we still have time to think about the vehicle we will be getting.

Here are a couple of our family pictures from this year (courtesy of Uncle Josh).

The Great Debate

Since Isaiah had his initial evaluation, we are going to be trialing some wheelchairs in the coming weeks. I'm pretty excited for this! His stroller had been working for us, but as he gets bigger it looks like it is less comfortable. We need something that will keep his body aligned and make him comfy when we are out and about. We probably won't use it at home much. Especially since we have that lovely split level house.

The great debate that comes with the wheelchair is the discussion of getting a new vehicle or two. Right now we have two sedans and neither of them will easily accept a wheelchair. There are some that you can take apart, but it isn't easy and it would be much more convenient to just put the whole thing in the vehicle together when we go places. This leads John to suggesting that we add a minivan to our household.

Now, in my whole entire 28 years on this planet I have been telling myself that I will NEVER drive a minivan. I mean, who really WANTS to drive a minivan? Nobody. They are ugly and lame. There is no such thing as a sexy minivan. I told him the only way that I would drive a minivan is if we filled it up with kids. He did not like that response. I feel pressured.

Do I have a logical reason for not wanting a minivan? No. They are cheaper than a lot of trucks and SUVs and they can get better gas mileage. They are roomy and comfortable. They are easily accessable. They can haul things. They can pull some things. But I CANNOT picture myself driving one.

I'm thinking a SUV or truck will do just fine. I can make it work, right? I can't see why not. I just don't have much of an argument there. I don't know who will win the debate, but I'll keep you posted as to what we decide.