Lucy is pretty much over the stroller these days. Our double umbrella stroller is semi-retired -- we now mostly use this cheap single umbrella stroller for Drake and let Lucy walk everywhere. Lucy boldly walked up the steps of each house we "treated". Myself or my husband would take Drake out of the stroller and carry him up to the door. Yes, it was a little tiresome taking him in an out of the stroller all night. But we wanted him to be able to participate, to knock on the door and reach in the candy bowl.
After we got home and put our over-tired, sugared-out kids to bed, my husband said, "I really can't wait for Drake to be able to trick or treat on his own." I realized through all of our ins and outs of the stroller, it never really occurred to me that Halloween could be hell on a mobility-impaired little one. All the walking, all the up and down the stairs, all the running to keep up with the high-on-sugar friends. It kind of bummed me out. We'd had such a fun night and at the end of it I was left thinking about future Halloweens and not savoring the moment of this one.
I consoled myself by thinking a) he will get up and down the street on his own, i just know it and b) he has a great wing-woman of a sister who will always make sure they are both long in lollipops.
4 comments:
Darling costumes! Great pics, too. Glad you had fun for a while.
Lots of parents choose other venues for trick-or-treat - for reasons not related to mobility. Like malls (sometimes a mall will advertise to bring kids in). There the surfaces are level for easier walking and the weather is not an issue.
Maybe for just one year - when he is moving on his own, but not up and down stairs easily.
Barbara
Love the costumes. I'm with Barbara--there are all kinds of options for the mobility impaired. In my neighborhood, which has all raised houses, the town hall also does a trick or treating village in the ball field, which is completely flat. They also have a cook out and other fun stuff for the kids. That could all be enjoyed without ever having to traverse one step.
My wife and I have been reading over your blog. We are considering adopting a little boy from Taiwan diagnosed with PVL. He is almost 2 and is able to sit, stand, walk, run and go up/down stairs. However, he is not able to talk clearly. We are not sure he has been diagnosed correctly and are curious about what you could teach us.
jujcrave@gmail.com
Thanks,
Justin
hi jujcrave
thanks for reading. not sure i can help you much as i am not a doctor. all i know is that pvl is damage to the white matter of the brain. there can be varying degrees of severity, both in how much the brain was damaged and the outcome of the child. i was told pvl typically presents as cerebral palsy, especially as it relates to the legs. there is often high or low tone in the legs as well as balance and coordination issues. some kids have more involvement and have impaired function of their arms and hands. some also have involvement in their trunk and head and neck. if this child is walking, running, etc that could mean his physical involvement from the pvl is very mild. he could have tone issues around his mouth which could make speaking clearly difficult. again, i am no doctor and every child is different. but it sounds like he is doing great to me! good luck with your decision.
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