Going back to Ability Camp..... Yeah!!!
August 1, 2009.....
Just spent the day driving from RI (where we are stationed now-moved in March) left at 9:30am and got to just before the border around 6:30pm. We had some minor problems driving like Lily throwing up (I think she gets car sick now) and gettting lost but we finally made it here. Tomorrow we have about a two hour drive and we will be in Milford Ontario. There is a general meeting in the evening at camp and we usually do some food shopping when we initially get there after unloading the car that is.
August 2, 2009.....
Well we are here at Ability Camp we got here about 2:30pm today. I almost have everything unpacked. Lily is in bed. Tomorrow is a big day for her. Tomorrow is the first class and the parents spend the whole first day in class with the kids. There are so many new families here this time some we haven't even met yet because they got here pretty late. More kids in wheelchairs than not so far which isn't usually the norm.
August 4, 2009....Today was the first day of class. They ask that the parents stay the whole first day in the class so you can have an idea of what they are doing with your child every day. It is always a bit hectic the first few days for the kids to get the routine down and the conductors to get to know the kids who are new to the program. They also do a week one video of each child and then a week five video of each child so you are able to see the progress your child has made over the five week session. So that was also done today.
August 4 2009....Today the kids went in the class parentless.
August 5, 2009....I am worried because the lead conductor Tunde says Lil's one foot is turning in when walking and she was not that way when she attended camp last year. I have noticed that it has been getting harder to walk her in the past months with feet crossing and turning in. Since we moved to RI the school has not been doing as much physically as she did in her old school that she picked up some bad habits. She must have gotten the work out of a life time today because she slept for 3 hours after class was done today. Keep your fingers crossed that her legs and feet get worked out.
August 6, 2009.... Today Lily saw the Chiropractor he is great with the kids. I wish we are able to find someone like him back in the states. In the states last year we saw a Chiropractor and I thought he was a bit shady so we stopped seeing him and have since moved and have not found someone new for her to see. Also I went in to class to do Lily's individual exercise with her. This consisted of hand over hand grasping and placing objects from side to side, gotta get those hands working. She also walked with a walker. In order to do this her hands get these mitt type gloves that wrap around the walker since she is unable to hold on herself and then I stand behind her and give hips a slight shift from side to side. It is by no means as easy as it sounds because I need to hold her, shift her and move the walker all at the same time. The whole while she is trying to pull her hands free from the mitts. She did a good job!
August 12, 2009....Friday I was bummed so I didn't write I always go through the same thoughts when coming to camp. Is this really the program for Lily. She isn't like any other child in the class body wise. Well they are all totally different but similar in some sense there has never been more than one child I have come across that is similar to Lil in any way. The one girl we met last summer McKenzie was the only child I have met in 8 yrs since Lily's illness onset that was like Lil. We called them soul sisters. Their bodies, their seizure disorders and the way they looked it to your eyes and spoke through them it was really amazing to me since the cause of their injuries couldn't have been more different. Anyway last week Lily was not taking any lunch by mouth (ground up) it is a work in progress and she hasn't been fed in school since we moved so she hasn't had practice in a long while. But this week she has eaten everything that was sent in for lunch, I am so proud of her! She is having trouble sleeping but hopefully tonight will be better for her. Happy Birthday Aunt Gina!
