Yep! We went all the way from Texas to sunny Florida. By plane, even. That is a whole other story--but until I can get to all of it I wanted to give you a sneak peek: the day we went to the beach! We drove over to Cocoa Beach from Orlando to give Dakin his first taste of surf and sand.
Our sandcastle!
Cocoa Beach!
Dakin and Mommy chillin' in the sand.
Dakin really enjoyed the beach...we dug in the sand with his shovel (he had originally told me he wanted to 'build a sandcastle. Mommy no help Dakin', but I ended up building it anyhow, of course...) and then with his foot. We took him down to the waterline, where I had hoped to sit with him in the surf, but the water was pretty chilly, so we stuck his feet in the ocean. The first time the wave came up and he had his feet in, he loved it. So we took him a little deeper...he didn't like that so much. But at least we can say he got to put his feet in the ocean. Which is a pretty amazing feat for a ventilator-dependent child from Texas. :)
I had planned pretty extensively for the beach trip, but I of course did not think of how very, very magnetic that sand is! I spent part of the time worrying he was going to get it in his stoma (the hole in his neck where his trach goes), the PEEP valve on his vent or in the vent itself. Super fun, that was. But it all turned out well and he really enjoyed himself. Except for the gulls...he hates birds.
After the beach we headed to a restaurant we had heard about from one of the bellhops at the hotel. It was right (I mean, like, over) the water. We got a table outside and enjoyed the sunset and fed the fish with the beyond-amazing corn fritters they served us. That quit when the birds showed up for their share (again, the bird phobia reared its head. Don't ask. I don't know). But this restaurant was awesome. The fish even come when you knock on the pier...I have never seen fish respond to calling before. It was wild.
See how beautiful?? I love this pic!
The beach was amazing, and definitely a dream come true. It was very important to me that he set foot in the ocean...I don't know why, but it was. I am glad he got to. It was really a perfect day! More to come on our amazing trip!
6 comments:
So fun! I am with Dakin on seagulls (and birds in general). I HATE the seagulls at the beach, big old nasty dirty birds!
I'm glad the beach went well, looking forward to hearing/seeing the rest of your trip. :)
How cool! I can totally understand being stressed about the sand. You're a good Mama! I LOVE the picture of Dakin on the dock. Beautiful!
oh how fun, love the pictures. Looks like Dakin is having a blast.
I am so excited for all of you! I love seeing Dakin thriving and having so much fun. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!
What an amazing, amazing trip you all had. A memory making trip for sure! That last picture of Dakin on the bridge is amazing! It should be blown up, framed, and in a museum :)
i stumbled upon your blog and spent an hour reading it. I don't know much about SMARD, all I know is that the love you have for your ADORABLE son is so apparent. I admire your family's strength and seeming normalcy and love despite what is sure to be a difficult struggle, and hard days. It looks like Dakin is loving life, and he has a great mom to thank for that. The picture of Dakin on the pier was breath-taking...i was moved beyond words by it, for some reason. Thank you for loving your son so much and for sharing that joyful light with others.
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