A big outing and other things

Friday turned out to be a big day. We got up, had OT where he worked on self dressing and self feeding. Then speech came in and co-taught with the education therapist. Scott, the teacher, had taken some of Alistair's books to read and create multiple choice questions from them to make it more interesting to Alistair. Alistair chose his Sports Moments 2015 book to do. They read the excerpt together and then Scott put it down to do the questions by placing the book upside down on it's pages with the binding facing up. Alistair quickly pointed and said, "No!' and indicated he wanted his alphabet board. Then he proceeded to spell out, "That is bad for the binding! My librarian said so!" Mrs. Huizenga should be very proud, she has taught Alistair good book habits! Scott and Laura, his SLP, thought that was great! Alistair's PT sessions consisted of getting him ready for his outing. We got situated in a wheelchair and then headed out the front door where we boarded a Children's accessible van and rode to U Village. We went to the Seattle Team Store where Alistair was given $30 by the Recreation Therapist fund to spend on what he wanted. He chose a Sonics hat and matching Skyline Socks. Then we headed over to QFC where we picked out some good football food to eat while watching the first Seahawks pre-season game. Alistair got refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. He also chose a fancy root beer to drink. 

When we got back, Alistair was exhausted. His afternoon sessions of OT and PT consisted mostly of stretching and range of motion exercises. He also took a nap to refresh for the evening activities. While he was sleeping, Papa, Nana, Natalie and Gillian showed up to watch the game. Grete had also come by to hang out as she had arranged for me to get my haircut, which was WAY overdue. When Alistair woke up from his nap, he asked for a frappucino. So we all headed down to Starbucks for treats and he drank an entire 12 oz decaf frap in no time flat! Then we came back up and got ready for the game. We watched for a bit and then it was time to get ready for bed. Papa stayed with him and had a guys night together!

This morning we headed in after breakfast and Alistair had already had OT and PT and was heading to speech. When he was done, we got a 4 hour pass to go off campus. We packed up a backpack and headed up the street to go to Metropolitan Market to look around and find something good for lunch. As we were heading up the street and stopped to take some photos with the Ronald McDonald statue for Gillian, Alistair's buddy and outpatient PT, Brian, caught up with us. He came to visit and heard we headed up the street. He joined us on our trek. We perused the market, found some tasty stuff for lunch and headed to the adjacent park to eat. Afterward we headed back to the hospital to get back in time for 2:00 meds. Then Alistair and Gillian watched a movie together while the adults chatted. 

Tonight my Mom is staying with Alistair. We brought Gillian home to have dinner with her. She is obviously having a hard time with everything as she spent most of the evening punishing us and pushing buttons. There were tears shed, but we had some mighty big discussions. We all agree everything sucks and nothing is fair for anyone. But we need to keep talking and helping her understand. She may never fully understand, but she is at least sympathetic and obviously loves her brother. We'll get there!