01Jul08 - Holding the Fort

I have been alone with the children for the last few days. Dawn has been in Spain having a break with her friends. I did have some help over the weekend from Helen (aka Mary Poppins) and my parents which was just as well because I had to finish clearing the house ready for the builders on Monday morning. I do quite enjoy these short spells alone with the kids. Fortunately I have been able to arrange it so that I could work from home otherwise it would have been awkward.

A new large "Wedge" arrived for Lucy on Monday. She has grown out of the one she has been using since birth but the new one is huge. That said she is not so small now and does need it. We are so lucky to have equipment like this provided for us.It feels like our home is gradually shrinking as new equipment arrives and especially now that the adaptions are happening. She was very happy with it though. It is quite easy to lie her on her side in it and this afternoon she had a good two hours nap on it.

We should have been at a wheelchair appointment this afternoon but it was cancelled at the last minute. Lucy is getting a new "Blade" wheelchair specifically for transit to and from school although we will also use it more generally. The Blade is a traditional looking chair and is one of the standard chairs offered by our Wheelchair Services. You do have the option to source your own chair and Wheelchair Services will part fund it. We did look at other options but in the end felt that it was not really worth the extra cost. Wheelchairs are certainly not cheap! Lucy did require quite a few modifications to the standard Blade to ensure she could keep the correct posture as much as possible including split foot rests to accommodate the fact that her legs are not developing at the same rate. Unfortunately I received a call just before the appointment to say that a standard chair had been delivered without any of the required modifications. We will now have to wait another month or so.

While waiting for the appointment I had decided to feed Lucy at her school as there was not enough time to go home in between. It was the first time Lucy had eaten lunch in the school canteen with the other children. Julie (I hope I spelt that right) who knows Lucy very well offered to feed Lucy just to see how she managed. I am getting much better at accepting offers these days and accepted the welcome break. Lucy was very tired and her eyes were drooping all the way through but Julie fed Lucy everything easily. I will admit it was quite a relief to know that when Lucy does start full days at school that we won't have to worry too much about her feeding.Lucy fell asleep on the way home which allowed me to actually get some work done this afternoon. Joshua went off to the "Young Carers" youth group this evening leaving me and Lucy to please ourselves. I fed Lucy nice and early and took her for a late walk in the park. The weather was so nice and Lucy is always happy being pushed around.I hope it isn't too naughty but we picked a poppy and Lucy held it all the way round. On the way home we stopped for a well earned drink at our local. Well a pint for me and a cuddle for Lucy.It was a nice way to end the day. As always Lucy is happiest when she is moving and soon tired of sitting around so we made our way home. Lucy is now fast asleep looking forward to seeing her Mum in the morning.