Spina Bifida Conquers the bounce house

It was hard to believe she had the confidence to try it, but she did. Of her own accord and determination, Adria began to climb the very steep stair on a bounce house obstacle course yesterday. And when I say steep, I mean it was basically straight up and down with no incline. I didn't even want to climb the thing!

Fortunately, it was Toddler Tuesday at CoCo's Funhouse so it was fairly empty and at 5 years old, she was one of the oldest children. This gave Adria the opportunity to take her time and tackle this virtual mountain one slow step at a time. I was NOT right behind her, ready to catch her fall because adults weren't allowed in that one. I had to watch from the side and encourage her (while trying not to freak out!) Sure, she would have a super soft landing and most likely be fine if she fell, but she so rarely exhibits this much bravery, I was praying it would be a confidence boost for her.

Halfway up - steady now

Almost to the top!

And it was. She made it to the top after about 15 minutes of climbing. It was actually looking down the slide on the other side that really frightened her but with some coaxing, she came down and had a big smile on her face. So did Mommy.

Wow. I never would have taken her to a place like this a year or two ago. And I even wondered if it was the right thing now. But it was. She loved it. We had a blast together with a dear friend and her little ones!

Cutie Adria rockin' her AFOs and walker in Summer 2011

And of course her adventurous little two year old sister did too and ran circles around big sissy. I think of when Adria was Johanna's age. At 25 months old, she had just started using a walker to get around and it was the cutest thing. She used it for about a year when just shy of her third birthday she took her first steps without a walker. Let me tell you, this mama cried the biggest tears of joy the first day I came home from work to see her walk up and give me a hug!

Now, just over two years and hundreds of falls later, she continues to prove she has the gusto to get herself up and willingly conquer life's major obstacles! I was so proud of her yesterday.

The only trouble was that kids are not supposed to wear shoes on the bounce houses, but she did need them and her leg braces (DAFOs) in order to climb the obstacles as her ankles are weak without them. I quickly learned that it is a safety concern with shoes on because they can easily catch on the slide coming down. Plus, she wanted to be like the other kids in sock feet. So she spent the last half of our play time without her braces and had just as much fun, but didn't really do the climbing anymore.

Here's a video documenting her progress yesterday. From conquering the first small slide to hanging tight when kids plowed by her to the really big obstacles. She was hesitant about sliding again after that last tumble, but that's when the braces and shoes came off. We'll be back again soon!