Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Tatiana's New Stroller

My five year old daughter, Tatiana, is multiply disabled and developmentally delayed. She has Cerebral Palsy and is totally blind among a lot of other things. She has a beautiful spirit and loves giving out her hugs and kisses. She is an inspiration to me because of just how much love and happiness she has to give despite all the terrible things that have happened to her.

We are still working on getting her mobile on her own, but for now she is wheelchair and stroller bound. She has grown so much that we just got new Ankle Foot Orthotics (AFOs) for her from Shriners on the 7th and not long ago got her wheelchair redone and adjusted to her with a new seat, seat back, and lateral supports. Today she just got a new Axiom 1.5 Dreamer Design Mobility Push Chair jogging stroller in navy blue with optional swivel wheel Axis kit, all-weather cover, and tire pump. It is the Cadillac of strollers, especially for special needs kids! We used her old jogging stroller a lot more than her wheelchair because of easier fold-ability. The Axiom seems to have a lot more parts to fold or unfold but now that I know how to fold and unfold it seems pretty straight forward so we will opt to take this with us on trips more than the wheelchair for now. She has a lot of growing room in it because it can hold up to 100 pounds and as you can see we need to adjust the foot wells to the highest position too.

Speaking of trips and her growing...we have been looking for a wheelchair accessible bus that will suit our needs and wants. Tatiana is growing and I am petite so this is making it more and more difficult for me to lift her from her stroller or wheelchair into her car seat in our van. Since we found out that our 2006 van cannot be equipped with a ramp because it is too old a body style and it is still possible that our family might grow larger, even though I just had a miscarriage, we are instead looking into an accessible bus. We need one that can accommodate our growing family...so room for 6 plus (preferably 8 or more seats plus a wheelchair spot but not more than 15 seats because then we would have to get a CDL license). We would like it to have a co-pilot's seat so that I can sit by my husband when he is driving. We think that diesel is the way to go for a bus because of less wear and tear on the engine. Once we get it we are thinking about fitting it with a tow package so that we can tow a trailer, boat, RV, etc. My husband wants to get fog lights and maybe a snow plow for the front of it in the winter months. We were also wanting to get dolphins airbrushed on the sides :) My parents think we are hippies.

1 comment:

Cindy Jensen said...

Tatiana is absolutely beautiful! Mom did such a good job describing her heart, and it shows with her smile. I hope you have many happy miles together in your New Axiom Push Chair. At Adaptive Star we believe in Going Out & Making A Difference, we hope you will join us on our journey. If I can ever assist you with any questions or anyone else that needs an Axiom please call me at 1-800-278-9626 ext 103. or email cindy@adaptivestar.com. Best Wishes. cindy