I am usually all for Faith trying something new. Years ago, though, I drew the line at adaptive skiing. I knew that Dreams in Motion does an annual event at Huff Hills (North Dakota's largest ski area), but I was too afraid to let Faith try it. I just didn't know how she would do being strapped down so tightly, especially with her high tone and issues with her left hip. At her day program, some of her friends had been going for years and Faith thought it sounded like so much fun. So, this year, I decided we should give it a try. Since there are only 20 spots available for this event, I got her registered the morning it opened up. Lots of fresh powder at Huff Hills As the event drew near, I knew I needed to get snow pants for her (since she had none) and make sure I had all the right winter apparel to keep her warm. That was also one of my biggest concerns is her getting too cold, which can cause her tone to increase even more. As the day approached, she was...
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Fighting the Flood
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It is the last day of school for kids here in Bismarck but all of the excitement for summer is being drowned out by flooding from the Missouri River. Residents of Bismarck/Mandan have been fighting hard all week to keep the waters at bay.
Today, the Bismarck mayor called for even more volunteers because over two million sandbags are still needed. While it looks grim for some, they continue to hold out hope.
man-made dikes are becoming a common site in Bismarck-Mandan
Yesterday, the public was told of a plan to help save most of south Bismarck and others who live near the river from severe flooding. There are many residents though who live outside of their proposed plan. Some of them have already gotten water in their homes, others are packing up and leaving while others continue to sandbag. This weekend it is supposed to rain and on Monday, the Army Core of Engineers will be releasing more water from Garrison Dam. It's hard to know what will happen after that.
I'm thankful we are here in North Bismarck where we don't have to worry about flooding. But we are worried about our friends and loved ones who are fighting to save their homes and who are looking elsewhere for a place to live. It also saddens me they had to close the zoo and evacuate all of the animals. That may seem minor, but I know how much Faith was looking forward to going there for many visits this summer.
Residents are constantly being told not to panic. Despite their fears, the community has pulled together to help those in need. Yesterday on the news, a National Guardsman said when he got the call to duty, he was so excited to help that he had his boots on before he even got off the phone. Last night, people met together at a local church to pray. It is amazing that the best in people is brought out in the worst situations.
Please continue to volunteer and do what you can. If you have physical limitations, make food for sandbagging crews, watch people's kids for them and most of all pray. For some it may seem like a lost cause but with God all things are possible.
I added the following video after I found it on YouTube. It really captures what Bismarck/Mandan as a community is dealing with.
I am usually all for Faith trying something new. Years ago, though, I drew the line at adaptive skiing. I knew that Dreams in Motion does an annual event at Huff Hills (North Dakota's largest ski area), but I was too afraid to let Faith try it. I just didn't know how she would do being strapped down so tightly, especially with her high tone and issues with her left hip. At her day program, some of her friends had been going for years and Faith thought it sounded like so much fun. So, this year, I decided we should give it a try. Since there are only 20 spots available for this event, I got her registered the morning it opened up. Lots of fresh powder at Huff Hills As the event drew near, I knew I needed to get snow pants for her (since she had none) and make sure I had all the right winter apparel to keep her warm. That was also one of my biggest concerns is her getting too cold, which can cause her tone to increase even more. As the day approached, she was...
February started out as it typically does: very cold! This year, my parents and sister braved the weather to have a small get together for my birthday. Faith thought I needed another party like I had last year, but I told her 51 just wasn't as exciting! She also asked if her Auntie Tesa was going to fly up again. Faith really does love a good party! Accurate! Dawn, Faith, and Me Dad practicing holding his arm for after shoulder surgery The next day, my parents took me to IHOP , which had recently opened here in Bismarck, but I hadn't had a chance to go yet. It did not disappoint. My pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns and coffee were all perfect! I was glad to have gotten this meal in with my parents as two days later, my dad would be going through shoulder replacement surgery. We were all expecting him to be in and out on the same day, which is exactly what happened a couple of years ago when he had knee replacement surgery. I, along with my siblings, was shocked t...
We are right in the middle of Congenital Hearts Defect (CHD) Awareness Week, which runs from February 7th through 14th. I am glad to see so many posts on social media to help draw awareness! Many of those posts center around children with CHD, which is good as heart defects are the most common birth defect in the United States. But many people are unaware of how CHD affects adults. Hence, this blog post! In 2010, there were 1.4 million adults in the United States living with congenital heart defects (CHD). Due to increased survival, this number increases by about 5% every year. These numbers are significant considering that at one time babies born with CHD had virtually no chance of becoming an adult. Thanks to surgical advances and research in pediatric cardiology in the past 50 years, most congenital heart defects have been able to be corrected. Today, babies born with heart defects have a much better outlook than they did 50, or even 15 years ago. February 7-14th is CHD Awar...
This past week marked a huge milestone in Faith's life - she has been at her day program for 4 years! I well remember how excited I felt when I found out that in order to qualify for the program, all she needed was to be 18 and have a high school diploma. I know that is not the case in some states. And in many cases, parents choose to have their special needs child in school until they are 21 and then after that they can attend a day program. For Faith though, since I homeschooled her, we were both ready for her to move on to her adult life when she turned 18! Faith at the Science Center with one of her day program staff After a few meetings with her case manager and day program staff, she was ready for her first day. But was I? She was excited when I dropped her off, but as I drove away from the building, I began to cry. Would she really be okay here? Would staff know what to do if she looked uncomfortable or seemed like she was in pain? Faith is verbal, but she canno...
I was struck in the floods in Cumbria, England last year.
ReplyDeleteI can sympathise with what the people of Bismarck are going through; You are soo right in that the community needs to pull together.
"You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”
At the very least, Teams can share the burden and divide the grief that the flood may have caused.