July 30

This has been an amazing summer so far. We spent a week with family on Gabriola Island. Luke was unbelievable as we changed his environment constantly: big ferry ride to Nanaimo, small ferry to the island, new accommodations. He adjusted so well. He was really great with the family and even sat for long periods in people's laps. He was very chill. He was a bit bratty for some people on the odd occcasion, but hopefully that wasn't too frustrating for them. The only thing that was a bit unusual was he went into the women's washroom on occasion... must have liked all the doors in there or something, haha. If that's the worst of his behaviour, that's just fine with me. I was so pleased and proud of him. He even slept well on the floor of our bedroom (which, btw, had two huge windows that looked out onto the ocean... and did I mention our own personal bathroom with soaker tub and view as well?). We let Luke have the run of the house (and Joel too, of course) as it was huge and occupied by only family. They were great eaters and we often played in the tide pools. Luke managed all the rock climbing without assistance and touched a starfish without hesitation. His favourite thing to do was to curl up with his cousin T and sit on her lap for as long as she allowed him. Otherwise, he was an angel and most people were pleased and commented on how well he was doing. He even talked to some people in "real conversations". Thanks to my understanding family for being so patient and loving! It was THE most relaxing vacation my little family has had in years. I could breathe, and I had a lot of personal downtime which is so rare.

After Gabriola we went to Vancouver for a few days of neurotherapy. Luke was fairly well-behaved but only if I was in the room. I could read my book though, so that was good for me. Daddy and Joel enjoyed serious bonding time, especially on the pitch-and-putt golf course in Stanley Park... they're first 18 holes together :). Dr. Swingle was very pleased with Luke's progress over the first few sessions, and sped up treatment to include a social/communication component as well as a session which included flashing lights around Luke's eyes. I was concerned about seizures, but they did a reduced time-frame to be safe. Luke did fine. I can't really explain all that was done and what kind of success, but according to Dr. S., Luke's brain is more aligned and we should see some improvement in cognition and comprehension. It's now a week later and I can't pinpoint any major change... but once again, it feels like the oxygen therapy where every change is SO subtle. One day he frustrates me, the next he blows me away. Yesterday I was getting in the car and he said "Hop in". Haha. During his "Luke's games" (summer program I do with him 5x a week which includes reading), Luke has increased his sight words to almost all the words included in the first 12 readers of the Dick/Jane series. I think it's about 26 words altogether. If he completes these books in another week or so, I'm going to start a new book. It's cool to see him learn to sight-read. I asked him to read the words he does know in a Dr. Seuss book and he did most of them. That's fun. Hopefully it just continues to connect for him. We go back to Dr. Swingle for completion of the program for Luke which is about 16 more sessions for a total of 26. I am optimistic, but seeing him regress a bit is a little scary.

We have also been spending some time at our trailer at Mile High which is only 40 minutes away. Luke has been very interested in a little boy there who plays nicely with both our kids. He gets a little upset wondering where "R" is when I have to explain that he's playing with other friends. It's nice to see his interest in other kids as friends. When he's with us, he's "himself" which is usually good, but sometimes bratty... but it's been interesting to watch him follow the other kids around and it's been a blessing to watch how the other kids (for the most part) are nice to Luke. He's not nearly as pesky as he used to be with kids... he's more interested in what they're doing; and following along.

We enjoyed Luke's 8th birthday at Mile High on July 26. My parents came to visit as well as the resort managers and their two kids. The thunder and rain went crazy just as lunch was served but we were all cosy in our trailer. We had hotdogs and cupcakes, sang Happy Birthday and gave him presents. He was thrilled. I had decorated the trailer with "chocolate" (brown) balloons the night before, so we made his birthday a big deal all day... including chocolate donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast! He did open the presents without much help but still was not that interested in the contents. We did set up the beanbag toss game for all the neighbour kids to play and (with prompting) Luke joined in and even scored some points for his team. It was a nice hot day and we had delicious ribs and corn and caesar salad for dinner... Yum!