Aaron's Challenge

Aaron never ceases to amaze us.

Our little fugitive from across the ocean.

He's a tough, tough kid who has so many strikes against him.  The list of things he "can't" do is long and depressing at times.  We sometimes wonder how in the world he will ever overcome that list.

Last weekend, I was so sad to see my son sitting on the floor with all of his little Cub Scout buddies. When they all jumped up and ran away, he was left sitting there, waiting for someone to have mercy and lift him to his feet.  His knees don't bend far enough for him to get up by himself easily, and his arms provide him with absolutely no lift whatsoever.  So for all of his life, he has only been able to stand up by himself when he's had a nearby chair or wall to use for leverage. When neither of those is nearby, he's had to beg for assistance. 

Until this week, no one had figured out a way for him to stand up without help. Neither we nor any teacher or therapist could figure out a way for him to do it.  We all thought he would probably be stuck begging for help forever.

But this Mama wasn't convinced of that, because I know MY BOY is TOUGH and he is STRONG and he is SMART. And so, together, we decided to figure out how Aaron could get up off of the floor by himself. On Thursday night while Papa, Ben and Elijah were away at play practice, Aaron and I got to work.

We had figured out earlier that the ONLY way Aaron would be able to stand up from a sitting position on the ground was if he used his head in the place of his hands. He would have to become a human tripod.  But without strong, flexible knees, the boy was going to have to do some serious maneuvering to get himself anywhere near a position to stand. Then he would need INCREDIBLY strong stomach muscles in order to pull himself up. 

This is what we came up with:

DID YOU SEE???  DID YOU SEE???

WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN???

ALL BY HIMSELF!!

He can stand up all by himself.

I weep to type those words.  My boy is a SUPER HERO!

Think this is no big deal???  You try it! 

Aaron's Challenge.....

Ben can't do it.  Elijah can't do it.  Rob can't do it.  I can't do it.

Try it.

No hands.  No knee bending.  No cheating.  Just head and legs and stomach muscles allowed.

Try it!!  Have fun!!

Let us know how you did!!