Sunday Swimming

New pic for the main blog page - realized he looks quite a bit different than he did a year ago!  Anyways, coming to you live for the pool!  We take Noah to an aqua therapy session every Sunday afternoon from 4:30 to 5:15 - the session is actually in the pool at a hotel.  There are some definite negatives to this: the hotel is not very close to our house (~30 mins), we usually have to wake Noah up early from his nap to get there on time, and the desk-jockeys at Blue Cross Blue Shield have ruled from their pedestal on Mount Olympus that there is no progressive benefit to Noah - merely "maintenance" - and so they refuse to pay for it.  Of course, the fact that all of these barriers exist and we still make the trip every week with him should tell you that we feel differently!

His therapists have him do some pretty cool stuff in the pool and we are certainly seeing the benefits directly in his shoulder and arm strength as well as his increased recognition of the right side of his body, overall, as they do a lot of balance and centering work, too.  In addition to the great physical benefits he is reaping from the "weightless" therapy environment, he has also become very comfortable in the water.  It's quite amazing to think back to his first session - it certainly was not always this way!  His first session, he spent the whole time screaming bloody murder and cleared out the entire pool deck of unsuspecting hotel guests...in fact, I almost had to physically restrain Susan as she was about to "have words" with a disapproving, middle-aged woman who seemed to think we were torturing the poor little guy, clearly having no knowledge that it was a therapy session and not just a basic swimming lesson that was making him so miserable.  It very slowly got better over the first few sessions - I actually had to stop going for a period as he would scream for me to come "rescue" him.  What a difference 6 months makes!  He actually asks to go swimming now and looks forward to the sessions.  Enough so that Susan has even started taking him to an additional session offered by our Early Intervention people on Friday mornings.

It really is a great, additional benefit to have him so comfortable in the water now.  When we first started the sessions, the therapist talked about how, in addition to the great physical benefits, aqua therapy also often gives the kids a comfort-level in the water that ends up helping with their self-confidence later on...the idea that maybe they are limited when it comes to playing baseball or running around the school yard; but when they get near a pool, they have a leg-up on other kids and have been in the water on a regular basis for years.  So, while not easy - nothing ever is - we will certainly continue to bring him.

Here are a few videos to help give you an idea of what Sunday swimming entails...unfortunately it's iPhone video posted here so it's a bit grainy - I can assure you he is enjoying himself.  Some of the audio is pretty good, hope you can hear it.  Enjoy!