Day 21 - Dreaming of Walls of People

Last night I had a migraine that made me nauseous, and then I got the chills and could not make myself warm. Nurse Todd brought me the Tylenol / Ibuprofen concoction and I fell asleep seeing walls of people in my dream. Yep, went to the Olympics I am still debating whether the pros outweighed the cons or not. As much as I enjoyed being down town and taking in the sights it was rather challenging being there and trying to get Kourtney through the crowds in her electric wheelchair. On the Skytrain one guy was standing so close to Kourtney that his butt was literally in the poor girl's face. I let him know that there was extremely precious cargo "behind" him and he needed to watch his moves. Todd eventually "assumed" (punny) the position and the girls thought it would be funny to pull out the iFart on the Ipod. Thankfully the sound of the Skytrain drowned out the "Jack the Ripper fart".

As we made our way to see the Olympic Cauldron the crowds of people literally came to a standstill as we tried to move against people moving in opposite directions. Kourtney was unseen in her wheelchair and people would walk right in front of her. I "encouraged" to take no prisoners and keep the wheelchair moving and if she ran into somebody they would move out of her way rather quickly (is that what defensive driving is?) The wheelchair did come in handy though as we were able to avoid the lineups to have an unobstructed view of the Cauldron by taking the elevator to the viewing area. We did manage to lose Shaelyn in the sea of people as she did not want to hold our hands and for you who know her, she is very active. She even managed to do a donkey kick (skipping move) amongst all the people. Of course she wandered away from us and we lost her. Todd yelled for her so loud that the crowd stopped for an instant and all looked at our worried faces. Shaelyn heard it and there was her little face searching for us amidst the crowds. She didn't let go of my hand after that. Mind you at one point she was talking so fast and acting silly that she fell down on the sidewalk and once again stopped a large crowd of people.

We had tickets to short track speed skating, so we planned on taking the bus from downtown Vancouver to the Pacific Coliseum. As we stood and waited in line we started getting worried that we couldn't fit on the bus. One bus driver told us that the buses were crowded and they would not make room for wheelchairs. Instead of getting angry I decided the best thing to do is let Todd get angry (no just kidding) I prayed. I told God that we needed an empty bus and the next bus that came along . . . was empty. Some kind visitors from New York let us go to the front of the line when the bus finally came. Kourtney got on and the bus filled up at that spot.

We ended up getting wheelchair seating for the event and saw some name brand people up close; Josee Chouinard, Kristi Yamaguchi and Evgeni Malkin. Kourtney and I were so cold at the arena that I had to breakdown and buy an Olympic jacket for Kourtney. I was so worried about her because she had been so sick that I did not want her to get sicker. She looked so cute in her over sized jacket (there were none left in her size-my size yes- how convenient for me- much rather have a lulu though!!)

Although the Canadian results were disappointing we had an amazing time and were impressed by the athletes. At one point the USA crowd began their chant but the Canada took over and drowned them out. It was very cool!!

At the end of the Speed skating there was a 2 km lineup for the bus to get back to the Skytrain station, but impressively enough we waited for just 20 minutes. The crowded buses with standing room only brought on visions of overcrowded buses in third wold countries. We got to a very quiet Skytrain station and made our journey home.

I am home sick today, Kourtney is still sleeping. It was exhausting for her. Fighting crowds, the overt stares, the comments - she is my true Olympian. As awesome as it was to be part of the Olympics-I still down deep know and understand what true Olympic spirit is all about our pursuit is not about excellence but about living and fighting a disease that affects not only Kourtney but our whole family. I am thankful for our blog supporters that cheer us on by keeping update on what is going on, that is what keeps us going.

9 days left of the 30 day challenge....still keeping up. Although if you notice Shaelyn has a rash in the pictures- I am beginning to think it is a milk allergy. She is upholding her end of the deal, but unfortunately her body is complaining.

Day 19- Feeling great!

So here I am Day 19 of the challenge and I am all caught up to my goal of doing yoga 30 times in 30 days!! 11 more to go; I am over halfway through and loving it.

This week Kourtney has been very sick with a sinus cold. She has wiped her nose so many times that the end of her nose has blistered. It looks so painful, yet through it all she has remained chipper and positive. It has helped me cope so much better knowing that although she's sick she has not sunk into a depression. We have also have been amazed by the compassion bestowed upon us this week. Kourtney's teacher's aide, Tammy, was allowed to come to our house to help her with assignments and also to continue to do physio with her. I also was able to get a prescription for Kourtney by having a doctor only a phone call away; no questions asked and without hesitation. She is also looking forward to going to the Olympics and also looking forward to our Arizona trip which is now less than 2 weeks away.

The other night when Todd and I were at Alpha I felt this overwhelming sense of peace, I wouldn't trade my life for anything. Once again, we have experienced richness beyond what I can imagine. I also know doing this 30 day challenge has made me realize that practicing self control has given me a huge sense of accomplishment and has given me an amazing sense of well being. Although my Coke Zero vice and shopping vice were not harmful I always looked at them as a sense of entitlement. I deserved it because I needed to reward myself. I have actually discovered that the true reward comes with practicing self control. What an incredible lesson to learn.

Let me encourage any one reading this blog, especially woman out there who struggle with depression. I want to encourage you that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a matter of you taking control of what can bring you down in life. We think we deserve more out of life, we work hard, and rarely are satisfied with what life has to offer. We don't look at what is around us but we look at what is outside of our radius. We want to be thinner, richer. We want, want , want, and want and become depressed when we don't achieve this. But what we don't realize is at some point jumping off the "want" band wagon and being thankful for what each day brings is a lot easier and more free way to live. Believe me, I get it!!

Anyone who wants to join me in my last 11 days on my journey to self control . . . come with me . . . it is a great place to be.

Day 17

Hey, I have fallen behind one day in my challenge which means some doubles coming up for me!! Kourtney has been really sick, Shaelyn a bit more needy, and my nights at work crazy
I have a few days off now, so I am going to work very hard to pursue this challenge.
I still am staying away from shopping and also Coke zero!!

Saturday we will be heading into Vancouver to see the olympic short track skiing. Is Vancouver beautiful or what?!!

Olympic Spirit- Day 15

Good morning everyone. Yesterday, we watched in awe as Alexandre Bilodeau won the gold medal in men's moguls. But as his story unfolded about his drive for success it quickly started to hit close to home for our family. His perseverance is a result of being raised with a brother with cerebral palsy. He watched his brother's determination and made it his own. The gold medal interview on national television was not about the success of Alexander Bilodeau but about the success of a family raising a special needs child. It brought great joy to my heart to hear a their story. It reminded me of Shaelyn and her determination.

When Shaelyn first started with the Skipping Sensations, Kourtney walked into the gym and came over and sat down near her. Shaelyn's new skipping friends asked Shaelyn what was wrong with her sister. Shaelyn told them she had special skin and one day she would win a skipping competitition so that she can raise enough money to find a cure for her skin disorder. Once again we are reminded that having a child with special needs affects everyone in the family and can make a family stronger or tear them apart.

Which brings me back to Day 15 of our challenge. Don't give up, you can do it! I am heading to yoga today. Kourtney is sick but we will get her moving today. Shaelyn is skipping at the Abbotsford Rec Centre at 3:30 today for a public demo if anyone wants to see what she does.

Once again . . . thanks for participating in the challenge, if you have not kept up there are still 15 days left. Have a good one!!!

Day 12

I did it! I stuck the goals for the week and though I am exhausted I feel satisfied that I am meeting my Challenges.
Today Kourtney walked home from Shaelyn's school. A huge accomplishment. A couple of months ago she would have cried if we asked her to do that- today she did it willingly!!
This week won't be quite as busy, but I am still going to do doubles while I still feel strong.
Keep it up team!!