Highlights of the Mediterranean Cruise - Pompeii

Continuing the recap of our European Vacation...our next stop was...

Walking Tour of Pompeii, Italia -- June 7, 2012

 Thinking that it was not going to be very wheelchair accessible, we decided to backpack Aidan here as we walked around to see the ancient ruins.  We made the unwise decision to leave the stroller on the tour bus.  That turned out to be a painful mistake (painful for Aidan and labor-intensive for us)!  

A lot of it was quite accessible.  Pushing Aidan in the stroller could have saved him a lot of pain and agony, as we learned that too much time in the backpack carrier was very uncomfortable for Aidan.  The soft carrier that I got for this Europe trip just did not have enough support for him.  The lack of support in the backpack carrier coupled with Aidan’s severe scoliosis made the ride in the backpack carrier quite uncomfortable for him.

 He would shriek with tears rolling down his face. Ugh! It pained me to see him so uncomfortable!  Instead, Monica and I took turns carrying him in our arms and slowly bringing up the rear of the tour group.  That was the labor-intensive part, walking and carrying about 48 lbs in your arms but we did get to sit and rest when the guide would talk.  Aidan was happier and more comfortable so it had to be done.

We're back!!

We’re back!  We’re still here…alive and kickin’!!  I know it’s been almost a year and half since I last posted here.  I was victim to the comforts of my couch and snoozing in front of the TV instead of writing for this blog.  Sometimes as a mom, special needs or not, we’ll take sleep whenever we can get it.  And if Aidan is in a good stretch and sleeping well, I get to sleep well.  Though sometimes, instead of going to sleep, I stay up and watch a movie or a favorite TV show.  And more times than not, I usually fall asleep about 20 minutes into it.  Kevin then gets upset when it’s a movie that I chose and one for which he didn’t really care.  Then I get penalized and lose my movie choosing privilege for the next 2 movie-watching occasions.  After the boys are in bed and long past counting sheep, what I should really do is go to bed.  They always tell new moms, “You should sleep when the baby sleeps!”  While that is excellent advice, it’s a little impractical for the mom who wants some semblance of self to enjoy the little things like catching up on “Scandal” or dreaming of competing on “The Amazing Race” or even just to take a shower and shave her legs?!  That time when the child is asleep, is high-value ME time, and personally, I don’t want to squander it away by sleeping.  I really can’t complain though.  I’ve got really great support with a live-in nanny and her husband, who are just like another set of grandparents to my kids, and tremendous overall help to our family.  I’ve also got a wonderful, young male caregiver, who has become Aidan’s activity-enabler and big brother-buddy, and an understanding husband who I can wake up and tag team with me on Aidan’s bad nights.  Overall though, Aidan doesn’t have too many bad nights that often.  Though recently, Aidan has had several bad nights that I cannot quite figure out what is bothering him.  As a mom, it’s the most agonizing and heartbreaking feeling when your child is bothered by something and you can’t help make it better.  Aidan also gets frustrated and tears up after a while, and that is when I feel the most helpless.  My hypothesis is that he has had some adult teeth cutting through the gums.  Though I can’t remember how that felt from my childhood, I am sure it must be painful.  Another hypothesis is that he has reflux issues.  There have been a few nights where I've had to put him sleeping in his wheelchair reclined.  He settled down and seemed more comfortable when he was positioned more upright.  So, we bear through those bad days and move forward.  Fortunately the good days outnumber the bad days by a lot.  Even so, I have gotten used to sleeping less than 5 hours and can actually function quite well.

            So now I want to try to revive this blog and bring it up to date.  We last left off in the middle of our European cruise.  The next few posts may be more pictorial to catch everyone up to what’s been going on with us.  Aidan is a busy dude and he gets around.  J