8.3.12 Every Good Gift

WARNING: This post contains an abundance of good news. If you don't enjoy good news, please do not continue to read. 

Saturday we took the kids to the Victory Car Show at our church. What a fun time! Aimee really enjoys the sound of motors, but it was a bit loud so we took her hearing aids out. Sadly, one of them ended up lost during the event. We have been looking all over the property and in the buildings with no luck and finally had to resign ourselves to getting a replacement. I called to speak with her audiologist and the aids are still under warranty!!! That means a FREE replacement. WOW. The only bummer is that we won't get the replacement until we return from our trip.

Sunday we went to look at a wheelchair van. Aimee is now close to 45 pounds and very tall for her age, especially for a disabled child. More problematic, as you can see in the below video, we have had a really hard time keeping Aimee well supported in her car seat, which would especially be a big challenge for her on a long road trip. Ed has been looking online at used vans for the last several weeks, but we just couldn't find anything reasonable in our area. He even started looking at vans for sale in Florida and California. We found some good deals, but they were still too expensive for us at around $25,000. We had funds remaining from last year's photo contest that we really felt like were meant to purchase us a van. So we were holding out hope to find something we could buy with that amount of money.

AAAHH, I am so excited to tell you about this! We found a van about an hour from our house for less than half the price of the other vehicles. It was a little older, so we weren't sure what kind of condition it would be in, but decided to go take a look at it. WOW. It is amazingly amazing. It has been extremely well kept up, has a power ramp, kneeling system, room for 5 able bodied persons, oh and so much more. Even silly little things that I wanted, like cruise control that has the decelerate option. Haha! Not important, but blesses me. We love it so much and God totally had already provided the money for it! Another set of wheels for Aimee miraculously provided.

While we were searching online, I was praying that we would have a positive connection with the sellers too. I just have to say I was so blessed last night when we went to pick it up. This couple has three kids, one of which is now 25 and in a care facility. He has never been diagnosed, but his symptoms sound almost identical to Aimee's. The wife felt like it was time to pass the van on to another family, but was wanting to find the right fit. We talked for quite some time about our experiences. I can only describe it as I felt like my heart was hydrated talking to her. We talked about the decision to have another child after the birth of our disabled children. We talked about school districts, hospitals, going places with our kids, and much more. She had so many identical feelings and experiences to me it was... all I can say is, it was a gift for me to have that time with her.

The only little sad part about this wonderful new van is that Aimee and Caleb won't be sitting next to each other anymore. I took a little video last night as they sat next to each other for maybe the last time. I especially love Aimee's sweet smile and eyebrow raises at her brother.

Look how well she is supported in her chair compared to the car seat.

She fits! :)

The good news isn't over yet. Aimee is in "summer school", which just means that she has therapists coming over to the house to work with her. I was really challenged with the Occupational Therapy situation last year. The school was trying to use a therapist over skype... oh boy. It was really unsuccessful. They were finally able to hire an on site therapist for this year and we have worked with her several times over this past couple weeks. She is positive, encouraging, relaxed, and informative. She is supportive of us checking into this other therapy and said that she wants what is best for Aimee. She even said that we get to decide how often to do exercises at home. A therapist that realizes that life isn't just about doing therapy!?! Almost feels unheard of, at least rare. I am quite sure I will have more good news to share about working with her over the coming year. 

Tomorrow we leave for San Rafael, California. I plan to post multiple updates while we are there so that you can share in our experiences. Please pray for us as we travel and participate in this therapy. Pray that:
-Aimee would be attentive and engaged during the therapy sessions.
-We would be safe on the road and that our new van would run efficiently.
-We would have grace on the journey, especially the kiddos.
-Aimee would be peaceful and comfortable, even without her hearing aids.
-Caleb would be patient and secure.
-We would have wisdom to know if we should continue to pursue this style of therapy at home after the trip.