Last summer, while on vacation at a Jellystone Campground, Ben started to let go of me in the pool. He wore a life vest in 2 1/2 feet of water and by the last day, he was pushing me away and standing in the water unassisted for short periods of time - a few seconds at the most. This year, we joined an aquatic center with a special indoor therapeutic pool. I figured by the end of this summer, Ben would walk in the water while holding on to the rails. Once again, the stinker proved me wrong. We went to the aquatic center twice during Memorial Day weekend, just a week ago. Ben screamed in joy every minute of the 5 hours total we spent there. He sat in about one foot of water and watched everyone play. He moved around a bit by crawling and scooting. This Sunday, he insisted on leading Kim, the community staff person, to the 3ft area. (big kudos to Kim, because the water was icy). There were many boys his age swimming around and goofing off. They definitely were the impetus fo
These stories describe our journey with Ben, our oldest son. Ben is a sweet and energetic redhead, born with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic mutation. My husband, Ryan, and I try to keep up with Ben and his two younger brothers. I intend to shed insight into raising a child with disabilities and pass on the wisdom we’ve earned over the past two decades.