Change of plans . . . again

It started out with a promise to the boy, to do something with him.

It continued with a trip to meet with Rick Hoyt of Team Hoyt for some inspiration.

Then it became a 75 mile bike ride for MS up on the southern end of the Eastern Shore, but transportation & logistics were our enemies. Too far away and much too much time involved.

So it became a 60 mile bike ride with the Tour de Cure for diabetes, held locally.

Then he got worried about being in the jogging stroller (attached to my bicycle) for so long, and it turned into the 10 mile Tour de Cure family fun ride.

An additional event was added - the Shamrock 8k here at the oceanfront - with our local Team Hoyt and his physical therapist. He had a blast.

But transportation was again our enemy. I found out that the handicapped buses don't go down to southern Chesapeake, where the Tour de Cure is being held. Suffice it to say I investigated other transportation options and went to talk it over with him. His final decision?

Bike rides at the beach and Cape Henry. Easy transportation, he gets to look at the beach, easier access to facilities (because, well, you know), and we work on getting a ride together for United Cerebral Palsy - a cause much more near & dear to his heart, for obvious reasons.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1410/1118755967_c335b570df.jpg?v=0

This is kinda what I would have looked like, except no hairy legs. And no beard. And long red hair.

Transportation is a major issue in our little scenario. Since I am a staff member at the Home, I must understandably abide by their policies and procedures when I take him out, meaning my options are limited. If I use a private vehicle, I have to be able to tether down his car seat. It just does barely fit into my car, but then I would have to cut a hole in the roof for his head to stick through. Now, I'm very fond of the kid, but nuh uh, ain't gonna happen. Same problem with BS's pick-up.

And if I did find a private vehicle that would fit the car seat, there is the problem of his wheelchair. It is a power chair and weighs just about 137, 258 pounds. Or close to. Ain't no way I'm getting that thing in anyone's trunk, or their van, or their anything else. So that leaves me with the public handicapped transportation. We used this before to go to the movies with BS, and it was great. The only drawback is they don't go everywhere, like southern Chesapeake or any other rural part of our fair region. We are limited to the main bus routes. Still, that service will prove to be a blessing when we want to go out.

So now what? I still want to do something soon, and I got to thinking. Maybe I'll walk on over to my mother's beach condo for dinner some nice Saturday soon, huh? Does that sound good? Oh right, I can just hear you sneering now. Big deal.

But it is, really. I'll have to start at the crack of dawn, since she lives on the bay, a splash over 13 miles from my house. There will be plenty of places along the way to stop & pee or get a drink, and by the time I get there, I'm gonna be hungry, so dinner better be good. By that time, the view off her balcony will be a lovely sunset like this one. . .

And you know what's funny? 13 miles from her house to mine, and that's only in a small part of Virginia Beach. It is one big-ass city. If I centered this Google Earth image correctly, I have Virginia Beach from top (the Chesapeake Bay) to bottom (the North Carolina line), and my little stroll is only in the northern part. Click on it and it will enlarge.

First things first, though. I need some good walking shoes. Because, after all, 13 miles is a half-marathon. Whoo-hoo!!

Kids at the beach

My friend & fellow blogger Rosie inspired this with her latest post about wheelchair access on the Outer Banks. It got me to thinking - again - about our kids at St. Mary's (Google alerts at the Home!).

So many things we take for granted, they will never experience, and this post is about one of those things in particular. We are very lucky to be living here in coastal Virginia where we can go see the ocean whenever we want, but our kids, even though they live here too, are dependent on their wheelchairs to get them around.

Let me emphasize this: wheelchairs + sand + salt water = broken wheelchair = disaster.

And we at St. Mary's feel that our kids should be able to experience some of the particular joys of life like any other kid, namely, the sound of the surf, the smell of the sea, and the feel of the sand & waves. We're just funny that way.

The resort strip in Virginia Beach has the "boardwalk", which I have posted about before, and wheelchairs have a smooth ride on its smooth cement, so the sound of the surf & the smell of the sea are certainly within our kids' reach. But, if you go north to Fort Story or south to Sandbridge or the Outer Banks (please note that the Wiki mentions that the Outer Banks start in southeastern VA), there is no boardwalk to be found. That leaves nothing between the ocean and the road but sea oats and houses. What's a wheelchair to do?

We take some of them to the beach in the summers now, but all we can do is push them along the boardwalk. Some of them participate in the shorter runs with out local chapter of Team Hoyt. But how do they really experience the ocean?

I'll tell you. We in the Physical Therapy Department started looking into this a while ago, and yes, my boy was one of the reasons. This is where I introduced him, for those who don't remember (and that particular post seems to be the source of a lot of overseas hits on my blog. Go figure).

Anyway, we found these . . .

http://www.landeez.com/

And this one . . .

http://www.pvcdme.com/9811/top_wheelchair.html

There are other manufacturers, but you get the idea. Trouble is, these are a pretty penny to buy, in fact, more like one or two hundred thousand pennies. So we have to figure out a way to not only pay for it, but make it accessible to as many kids as possible. But these can be rolled right down into the water so that our kids can feel, if only for a few minutes, like any other kid before they have to go back to the harsh reality of their lives.

It would need to allow for modifications to make more secure for our guys, since they generally have very poor control of their bodies, but we are seeing a lot of potential here.

Excuse me now, I must go make some cookies for our bake sale.