A Hectic May

I feel so lucky on this Mother’s Day to have been blessed with two amazing boys. I truly couldn’t ask for better kids, we’ll see if that sentiment holds as we head into teenager years. :-)

We got an early start to summer fun this past Thursday when we joined Adaptive Adventures at Chatfield Reservoir with some kayaking, sailing and rock climbing. It was one of those bittersweet moments watching Jake on the rock wall. He was trying so hard to propel himself up the wall but he just didn’t have the strength in his left arm to pull him up. One of their volunteers got on the wall to help him...it was so impressive at how good she was at giving him extra support while hanging on the wall herself so he could keep going. While this is happening, Luke went up and down three different sections of the wall. Seeing how easily he was able to do it while watching Jake struggle so hard to just get up one section was one of those gut wrenching moments. I hated that it had to be so hard for Jake, but at the same time being so proud of him for continuing to persevere and make it to the top. We are really looking forward to doing more with them this summer.

In addition to our normal day to day stuff, Jake has a lot going on the next month. This coming Wednesday, he is going to the Gait Lab at Children’s Hospital. I talked about this a few posts ago when we were in the process of trying to get a referral. I am hopeful that we will get some really good information from this so we can figure out if there is a better way to help his walking. We won’t get their findings for a few weeks, but I’ll post an update next weekend on how the lab itself goes.

He's also has his first overnight camping trip next weekend with boy scouts, along with Todd and Luke. The following week he is getting an award at the middle school awards night. Last year he was chosen as outstanding band member for 6th grade which was such a cool thing for him. We don’t know what he is getting this time but I’ll be sure to let you know when we find out. Then he finishes 7th grade at the end of the month and has his 3rd year anniversary post stroke on May 31st. So hard to believe it's been three years... 

Finally, and probably the one I am most proud of, Jake is going to summer camp at Roundup River Ranch on June 8th! We went last fall for the family weekend and had such a great time. Ever since, I have been hoping he would go to the kid’s only version this summer. We’ve talked about it off and on over the past several months, but he’s really been on the fence if he wanted to attend. He got accepted about a week ago and told us Friday night he wants to go. His independence took a huge step backwards after his stroke, and for him to decide he’s ready to go away by himself for 6 days is a HUGE step. His only overnights without us in the past three years have been with very good friends or my mom and dad. The camp session he's attending is for kids with a neurological disorder, so I’m hoping he can finally get the chance to connect with some other kids who might be dealing with similar issues. As with most summer camps, there is no communication, so it’s going to be really hard on me, but I know it’s going to be so good for him. The staff is trained to deal with kids who have medical issues and he really couldn’t be at a better place to get the support he needs while away. If only they had that same kind of support for the parents who are at home. :-)