The past two months have been very exciting for us as certain plans have come to fruition. After much paperwork and patience, Gideon got new equipment!
Back in April Gideon received a tomato sitter with a rolling base. All thanks to Mr. Kane’s 3rd grade class and DARS. Mr. Kane’s kiddos raised money for Gideon to get this special chair back in December. But before we purchased it, we found out that DARS was going to cover the sitter and base, but not the rolling base that we wanted. So we waited on DARS (their paperwork process can be lengthy, but we are grateful). Then last month, when we got the call that DARS had the chair, we purchased the base with wheels on our own-thanks to Mr. Kane’s class.
This sitter has been so wonderful for Gideon and our family. Now he can sit and play without having to hold himself in a sitting position. It is also great for mine and Kevin’s parents. It’s hard to carry Gideon across the house now that he’s getting so big. This allows us to roll him from room to room if we need to. He’s almost outgrown his high chair, but I’m not worried about that now, because his sitter works the same way. Overall, it just makes interacting with him easy.
Then a few days ago we got a call from our medical supply rep, Susan. She has been working her butt off (since October) to get Gideon an adaptive stroller. I’ll spare you the details, but just know that this process was (and probably always will be) grueling. So when she called us Wednesday, she was very excited to tell us that it had been delivered…just in time for our surprise family vacation next week!! (She pulled some major strings!! Thank you Susan!!)
She brought it over late Wednesday and this is what it looks like.
You may not be able to tell from the photos, but this stroller is AWESOME!! First of all, notice how the seating system supports Gideon? That is huge! Another cool feature is that the chair turns so that Gideon can face forwards or backwards. It also tilts AND reclines!!!! This is a great feature for me because I can change his diaper while he’s in the stroller. That means a lot since he will only get bigger and outgrow the bathroom changing stations.
Laynie is excited because the push bars lower down so she is able to push him like the big sister that she is. The stroller also came with a tray that we can use for feedings or play. Did I mention it as a zero turn radius?!?!? Seriously, it is overall amazing. The only down side is that it is harder to take apart and put in my car…mostly because it’s heavy and my “trunk” is small….stupid jeep compass, what was I thinking??
All that said, we are so grateful for these new pieces of equipment. They have already made life so much easier for us and for Gideon. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been involved in making life more enjoyable for our son. There are so many who are involved in my little boy’s life- therapists, reps, doctors, as well as friends, family and complete strangers who just love our boy….thank you. Thank you for loving him and us well. Not every family has the community support that we do and I hope you all know that that is something we do not take for granted.
Blessings
