Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Glasses Part IV - The saga continues...

Oatie's mum here, I cannot believe how difficult it has been for one to get ONE pair of glasses for a 3 year old. My Eldest didn't have any trouble getting a pair of glasses ever. The optician that my eldest gets his glasses from WILL NOT (even if you prepay in advance) get the frames in, because their head office in the USA won't let them apparently? The frames are nothing custom about them, they are the cable temple style which suits toddlers in general and meant to be great for children with Cerebral Palsy. So in the same mall the other opticians recommended this other optician, which seemed great at first, the lady was very helpful, to then when Oatie had his eyes dilated (forgot before he had his eyes dilated to measure them) so that required another trip, only to spend 1.5 hours in there as they lost the previous order and Oatie and his dad had an ordeal in there... to then go back again to then have his eyes measured... now they had two frames as the shop assistants (between huffing at handicapped kids finally spoke to each other so they tallied up the two frames) Okay, Okay, I hear you shouting at your screen WHY did we persist? Well in the area that we live in shopping is quite unique. So if you find the something that you need, you end up putting up with rubbish levels of customer service (Quite ironic considering I was a Customer Service Manager and despise poor customer service ). Anyway I was fairly annoyed at the treatment so I did the good old yellow pages thing (reminded me of J.R. Hartley Yellow Pages add when I was a kid) and rang down the list on an Internet search. I came across a small optician's and the name seemed familiar (I later found out one of my very dearest friend uses them for her son) and not only was the service terrific, but the frames are now ordered and will be ready on Friday and to add a bonus $150 less than the other place!  All the poor love wants is to be able to see clearly/better.  I just hope he still finds his mummy beautiful when he has his glasses on (he tells me that every morning).  Oaties big brother and sister go back to school tomorrow, and we did some home baked goods to stock the freezer for healthy snacks and so we didn't do any ABR today.

Oatie baking
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Monday, August 30, 2010

Ignorance of Young Disabled Children

Hi Oatie's Mum here.  (Okay it wasn't intended to be a rant) but....We went out earlier today and did a few errands, popped into the post office, glasses shop, shoe shop as mentioned in the previous post, just usual family things.  What I find annoying is the attitude of the person in the post office, shop assistant or whoever it maybe.  Oatie wanted to WALK around the shopping mall, and any shopping mall is a huge place for a non-long distance walker.  I remember when I twisted my ankle one winter and parked in the furthest parking lot (not thinking about the distance as you don't when you're able bodied) in one mall and had to hobble to the shop I needed to get to buy winter gloves for one of the kids.  In -30, you need gloves!  So for Oatie to want to walk must be equally as tiring but he also wanted his independence... so he got a bit grumpy today , not overly so, and wanted to walk but was exhausted so had to sit down but didn't want to sit down as he wanted to walk.  So the usual 3 year old stuff but with the added drama of cannot walk more than 10 steps independently on top.  So while Oatie was complaining, "Oatie Walk", the huffs and scowls from the Post office woman, to the glasses shop assistant with annoyance at Oatie.  I find just because of his SIZE, you get treated like he's a picky LAZY 3 year old rather than..... a person who is trying to overcome a debilitating disability and a person such as Oatie who is the most stubborn person I know and we (my husband and I both come from stubborn families) know stubborn.  Oatie is SO determined to be Able and dis the part of DisABLED that he gets very frustrated at times and is a sensitive person and gets upset too by his body letting him down.  We prefer to take him around in a stroller rather than a wheelchair, so when we park in the handicap spot with our disabled badge, the looks we get from the 'limpers' like we're breaking the law by parking a bay that we're not allowed to park in (even though Oatie's in the car too and the placard is registered to Oatie) like I would NEVER EVER park in a disabled bay without Oatie and abuse the placard system.  Why do you have to be OLD to be disabled, what about the young?  I can hear you say, oh but he's only 3, if you pick up Oatie you'd know what I mean, you've seen photos of him, he's not a overweight guy by any means, but he's very heavy and his body is dense and doesn't "hang on", and destined to be a 6ft2 burly lad.  We've noticed that since I've been rolling the whole length of his back with the ABR technique, that his muscles have got more dense too and he's put on muscle weight. 

Or when you get perceived that you're an annoying parent by bringing the stroller, into a shop or wherever just to them, an annoying opinionated 3 year old who wants to walk and can't>, and a few times have been asked 'can't you leave it in the car! he saying he wants to walk'....  I really felt like saying, can't you leave your LEGS in the car? 

Oatie is our 3rd child so I've had the "normal" taking 2 kids out on errands shopping etc etc before and have the comparison of having our gorgeous Oatie as our 3rd and notice the difference in I suppose before and after.  Or before and after finding out about his disability.  I'm not complaining, but just food for thought, just popping into the grocery store or going out for a family walk even with a toddler, you with an able bodied family take it for granted, the ease of just going out and just doing.  When you have to allow for "wheels" you can't just go as easily, you need planning.  My friend invited us to go camping, I so wanted to take the kids, but then thought, terrain, handicap, not just yet.  I'm not saying never, as I do feel that just because one has a handicap you can't achieve, I used to love watching the London Marathon and the wheelies cream all the runners on time, or a hero of mine Terry Fox.  I suppose the time frame for what you'd be able to do activity wise as a family of able bodies, you have to move your perspective a bit back say a year or two or even three to something that's more realistic.  Sure, I'm an experience camper, I could have taken them, but would Oatie have enjoyed it at this stage?  Any maybe another young family of 3 kids with a disabled 3rd might have achieved it with success, but every family dynamic is different and in someway I feel that we're all still having to adjust, and even though Oatie can't convey all his opinions fluently as he would wish, but he does have them and preferences and yes I could have taken the older two, but on the other side I'm done with leaving him out.

Rant over.... 

All I can say is Thank you to ABR, for helping these wonderful children, reach their potential, and for Oatie,  ABR technique is keeping him pain free so far and twisted limb free so far and increased mobility.  And for being there for the parents too, they are just so nice and so understanding, I wish there were more people like the folks at ABR in the world, they to me are like Angels without visible halo's.

Glasses, ABR and a Webkinz Party - Hooray

Today we did 3 hours of ABR on the Bench, I really really wanted to watch Tigger, mum was trying to persuade me to watch something else and I was like Tigger Tigger Tigger please....  In the afternoon I really wanted a nap and I got a bit grumpy I was a bit tired from yesterday, we went out to try and find my sister some shoes, we've tried 4 shoe shops now and none have anything suitable in her size.  I went back to the glasses shop to have my eyes measured, I didn't want to but mum told me was a Star Wars Binocular... so I was looking for Darth Vader.  In the evening mum made homemade pizza (we're all allergic/intolerant to cows milk and products) so we have Goat cheese on our pizza instead.  Then it was one of our Webkinz birthday and we arranged a Webkinz party online, it was great fun.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

CBC News - Health - Attitudes towards children with disabilities need improvement, parents say

CBC News - Health - Attitudes towards children with disabilities need improvement, parents say

Day off from ABR

Today's our day off from ABR. Oatie wanted an ABR session I felt bad saying not today. The kids cast some plaster Star Wars figures. The kids spent the day playing, mini disco and watching Harry Potter and the philosopher/sorcerer's stone. We had English pancakes for lunch and dad cooked dinner tonight. Photo's of the Jedi, and Oatie eating pancakes. Since ABR Oatie's been able to eat more wadgy things and we were a bit surprised that Oatie actually ate them this time.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Star Wars

Oatie loves Star Wars, yesterday I made his brother and sister a Jedi cape each. They wanted a cape, since we visited Disneyland after ABR training this May in California. Anyway Oatie hid in his brothers cape and said 'Oatie Jedi too, Oatie wants cape please'. So I made him one too. Tonight we're watching Star Wars I, all the kids are dressed as Jedi. We've noticed Oatie had been singing more each week, and increased in preferences by more spontaneous independent speech. With that Oatie gets more and more frustrated with having Cerebral Palsy, and gets upset when he misses out on things that able bodied kids can do, like today at the pool, he insisted on climbing up the steps of the toddler waterslide (with aid and it took him a minute, but he was absolutely determined). BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

My new suede shoes

Today we did 3:20 of ABR, in the afternoon we went swimming, I really love the water. I got some new suede shoes for school. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Friday, August 27, 2010

Pre-School Here I come ! - Bonjour Prématernelle !

Today we did a very short session of ABR as I got assessed for my pre-school and I CAN GO ! I am so excited. One of my very best friends will be in my class. Her sister is the same age as my big brother, her brother is the same age as my sister. I get to start school for the very first time on the 7th September. They have never had student with Cerebral Palsy before. My big sister is going to be in the class room opposite for her kindergarten class. I am so excited, I have wanted to go to pre-school for ages and the best bit it is in French! Here is my brothers cat. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sunny Wednesday...

Today we did 2:45 minutes of ABR...  This evening I'm hoping to paint my piggy bank with my big brother.  One week till my brother and sister go back to school.  I'm going to really miss them getting "wow" each time he falls of the bench.  I watched Barbie Island Princess for the first time this week, and it has a red panda called Sagi.  It looks exactly like "WOW" so I love watching this film when I'm on the bench and so does "WOW".

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Dilated eyes still...

My eyes are still dilated from the drops i had yesterday. Today we did 3.5 hours of ABR.   In the afternoon, I was a good boy at the dentist, I had no cavities and got a balloon.  Here is a photo of me walking.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Yummy Jam Tarts

Today we did just under 4 hours of ABR, later I went to get my eye dilating drops for my new glasses. While I was out with dad. Mummy made some homemade jam tarts. Here is a photo of me eating my jam tart. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Late night bench session

We had Saturday off this week, mum was busy re-organising our house ready for school to start next week.

Today we went for a family swim, I got really confident at a sitting dive in to mummy's arms. Later dad made homemade pizza and we did a late night bench session. We did 2:15 of ABR. Today I could walk further, and I could stand up in open space repeatedly and control my balance better. I have also started to sing more. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Friday, August 20, 2010

Super Friday

Today we did just over 2.5 hours of ABR as we were going around a friends for a play-date. Here is some inventive ABR 'supports'. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Trains...

Today we had another quiet day, we did 3 hours on the bench. I played with the train set we put the mazin hamsters on the train. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Swimming with CP

Oatie's Mummy here, I just researched and some people with CP have competed in the Special Olympics for swimming. That is so amazing!

Eye test

My first visit to the eye doctorToday we did 3.5 hours of ABR! I went for my very first eye test. I was very good the only bit I didn't like was the air being puffed in my eye. Oh mannnnnn! I have just found out I need glasses! BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Monday, August 16, 2010

Swimming

Today we did 3.5 hours of ABR, which was great.  I was watching my favourite movie and my sister found 'Smoo' my stuffie cat that went walk about.  Later in the evening we went Swimming.  My sister just today did 10 strokes all by herself, which is great!  My leg kick is getting really good too.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Better afternoon...

The afternoon was better we went swimming my back stroke leg kick is getting really strong I wonder how many kids with CP ever learn to swim? Here is me shopping. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Discrimination

Today it's a post from Oatie's mum. We decided to go Family swimming and skating. So we headed off for a family skate first. Oatie, was really enjoying himself in his stroller. When one of the rink guys said we had to leave the ice because strollers are not permitted on the ice. Which isn't true as the rules on the sign screwed to the wall that clearly states strollers are permitted as long as the wheels are clean (which our were) we don't want to trip over anymore than anyone else does with debris. Oatie's dad explained that the rules say you can, and the rink guys were still adamant that they were right.  Even after Oatie's dad explained that he (Oatie) was Disabled and this was 'skating' to Oatie they didn't care and their edict came from their manager. Well we said that they could get their manager to ask us to leave if the rules weren't so. Naturally no one came. After the skate I was really annoyed, I really didn't like discrimination against disabled people before I had a disabled child, and really truly felt that there should be equal opportunity and that discrimination still exists in this day and age is just plain ignorant and so unfeeling.  Well, I found a phone number for the manager just outside the rink, and well guess who answered... it was the same guys who tried to throw us off (manager wasn't in today) they did go and look the wall and realized that they were wrong, I laid it on thick how they should be more considerate of disabled people, (Oatie was out of earshot of my conversation) still rink side with his dad while his brother and sister took their skates off.  And... I even got an apology out of them for being discriminatory towards Oatie and they said in future they'll leave him alone.  The sad bit is that Oatie loves buggy skating and as he can understand every word that is said he was really upset when they said he couldn't skate as they said it right in front of him and he went all quiet after that saying Off?  It wasn't until another skater said to Oat, that there was not way they were taking him off the ice (Oatie's got a bit of a fan club). Oatie is a safe skater, he wears a skating helmet. And we'd never take him on shinny or a figure skate in a stroller only a public or family skate. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Surprise in the post!

Today we went for a family swim, I saw one of my friends in the pool which was great. Later we went to the post office to collect a parcel for me it was a present from my Nana overseas! It's fantastic! We did 2 hours of ABR today. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Friday, August 13, 2010

My Special Dinner

My mum and I did over 3 hours of ABR today, and mum is really enjoying her new shoes.  In the afternoon mum quickly iced another cake for me, and today we went out to celebrate my birthday, as on my actual day we were flying out to ABR HQ.  My daddy is teaching me to how to take a photo. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Incredibles...



Today we did just under 3.5 hours of ABR. I will now eat and enjoy Ravioli. We had film night today we watched 'The Incredibles' cool! BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

My first painting experience

Today we did just over 3 hours of ABR. My motor control has improved so much since starting ABR. The plaster dinosaurs that we cast were dry. So today we painted them, it wad my first time painting with a brush, it was awesome!
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Michael Jackson - this is it

Today we did just over 3 hours of ABR. While I was on the bench we watched Michael Jackson - this is it, I couldn't stop bopping so I was a bit wriggly for mummy. Look! My dinosaur has grown, it's just so exciting.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Dinosaurs are go

Today we did just over 3 hours of ABR which Oatie calls 'bench'. Our Dinosaurs have hatched which are so cool. We had a great time at our friends house. I tried and ate some grapes today. This evening there was a whole rainbow. Here is a photo of my dinosaur beginning to hatch. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sunday: mama's cruising... in her new suede shoes...

Today Oatie's mummy tried our her new shoes and it felt wonderful. We watched a Barbie film in French. My brother and I built a castle together. We got just over 3 hours in of ABR today.  We played Lego again later.  We are all growing dinosaur egg's which is so exciting.  This evening we started making plaster dinosaur magnets.  I've never really tried painting with a brush before, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Saturday shopping spree

Look at these!  So perfect for ball rolling - I love themToday we had a day off from ABR; we went shopping for new figure skates for Oatie's big brother and sister, craft items and... My (Oatie's Mummy's) new ABR shoes. Well, I like to stand up for all the ball rolling exercises (most people sit) the great thing about ABR apart from the excellent team. All the exercises are adaptable for sitting or standing, and the severity of your Childs condition, it is tailored to you and your child, not you to the exercises. ABR is amazing! BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Friday, August 6, 2010

That Friday Feeling...

We had another great session 3 hours. Oatie finds it so relaxing... When we finished our session, Oatie didn't wake up, so he had a nap on the floor.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Another good day of ABR

Picnic with WoWToday we did 2:45 minutes. Today on the Bench I watched Cars, one of my favourite films.  We played some board games together and later we had a teddy bears picnic in pyjama's for afternoon tea you can see WoW next to me.  Daddy did a BBQ for dinner which is one of my favourites, since starting ABR, I have joined in on the family diet.  Before that I would be really fussy and not eat lumpy foods.  My brother then showed me how to use a paint programme on the computer, I think I prefer the touch pad mouse to a conventional mouse, it's more like mummy's phone. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Today we got 3 hours of ABR in.


Today, we had another great day, mummy is getting better at working out which order of moves has the minimal body position changes and I've been really good.  We do our 3 hour sessions straight.  I had omelet for lunch, and played lots with my brother and sister.  I asked my brother if I could camp in his bunk bed tonight and he said yes.  I love camping, I take lots of my cars and Wow and Crystal with me too.  Here I am playing babies with my big sister.
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