Leonel and Anita on the slide
Today I "swam" with the kids at Hermano Pedro for the first time. Actually, it was more like I walked around in the water, bouncing and swaying Luis Andres. This little guy is so constricted with Cerebral Palsy that he hardly relaxes even in the warm water of the pool. But he seemed to enjoy the water and the play anyway. Today there were about 10 of us in the pool with about 10 kids, and it was the "free-est" I've seen most of the kids ever. Sorry, no pictures, since I was too busy holding Luis Andres above water to take any. (Besides, I'm not sure I'm humble enough yet to be seen in public in a bathing suit!)
After swimming I held and played with Leslie for about 45 min. This dear one is blind, but really responsive and very bright. The charge nurse came over and told me they were working on teaching her to touch her facial features, so I made up a song and we practiced this over and over. Leslie is kind of special to me since our Westside Church team, which arrives tomorrow, will be building a house for her family in Santa Rosa. Tonight I was able to pick the brain of a friend of mine who is a specialist in working with the visually impaired, and she gave me some great ways to begin working with Leslie on communicating. Thanks, Donna. Wish you were here.
I then got to go to lunch at, where else, Pollo Campero with about five of the kids and a family that is spending time here this summer. Anita and Gary, and their two girls, Rachel and Grace are from outside of Indiannapolis, and have been here a number of weeks. They leave next Saturday (I think) and wanted to treat the kids before they left. We had a great time, and I do have pictures from this outing. After lunch we played on the playground at the restaurant for a while, and the kids loved it. Henry, one of the more able boys, decided to play "tienda" (store) with Rachel and Grace, and I so enjoyed seeing his imagination come alive. These outings are so good for the kids. They get a chance to be real kids!
Dick went back early with one of the kids who was having problems, and I was responsible for kids out in the community for the first time. Didn't realize how much I would feel the weight of the responsibility for them, especially I was only in physical control of one of them. This family is great with the kids, though, so I really had no cause to worry. Was just a little surprised at how pressured I felt to make sure everyone got back safely. (Yeah, Dick, I know you warned me!)
A special treat was encountering 2 "rescue dogs" in Central Park. They were the gentlest dogs I think I've ever seen, and most of the kids had a wonderful time petting and holding them. Again, this activity which is so common to childhood was a unique experience for our kids. Again, it was so good to see them just being kids!
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