The Crab Chronicles

Returning from a Journey

As I ponder my busy day ahead, it's hard to keep my mind on what I need to do today. I keep thinking about how Michael will be tonight when he gets back, and what he will say to me. He has traveled somewhere I've never been and done something major that I've never done [snow skiied] and he has seen how another family operates.

Except for a few trips to camp, and one weekend in the mountain with friends, he has not spent a night away from me in the 7 years since I adopted him.

As most folks know, travel changes you.

I wanted him to have this experience for a number of reasons. One, he has expressed a desire to learn to snow ski and snowboard for a long time, and watching the OIympics coverage re-ignited that wish. Two, my friend who hosted him is an amputee, and has a son with the same limb difference as Michael. Jim is also a very successful man, and a very moral man. Great role model.

Michael comes from a background and a culture [Kazakhstan] where people who are "handicapped" are considered completely un-employable, and usually not even seen much in public. Although he has been with me for 7 years, his first 10 years were that culture, and I don't want him to think of himself as "lesser" because of his missing hand.

Although Michael is almost thoroughly Americanized in so many ways, occasionally he will say or do something reminiscent of his birth culture, and that is to be expected. Sometimes it's a little worrisome but most of the time, it's just part of the deal. He will forever negotiate life in a way that a child born here cannot even fathom. He will also forever struggle with insecurities, wondering if people view him objectively, or with pity, or some other way.

I firmly believe - and I've told him - everyone has a handicap. Everyone. Some are visible, some invisible. It's how one deals with that that matters.

In talking to him about the future, I haven't been able to get him to really dig down and start thinking seriously about what he should be doing after high school. I don't expect him to make any big decisions at 17. Most kids don't know what they want to do at that age. However, most American-born kids are trained to be looking ahead, pondering choices, pondering different courses of action, from the time they are small, in some instances. He doesn't even like to discuss it.

In an orphanage, most kids don't look towards the future or want to think about it, because it's too scary.

The one thing I've tried to really emphasize to Michael is the importance of doing what he loves, not what anyone else wants him to do. However, even figuring that out is a challenge.

He loves people, and animals, and sports. He loves games. He hates boredom - anyone with the high IQ he has will totally understand and empathize with that.

What I hope this past weekend accomplished is that Jim was able to show him what it looks like to be a successful man in an unconventional life. Most folks don't lose a lower leg and then go back to school to learn to make prosthetics. Most men don't adopt children as singles. Most men don't spend significant amounts of time in foreign countries helping limb difference kids there, for no reward whatsoever except the smiles and gratitudes of kids living in dire poverty.

I also hope that Michael was able to light some fuses within himself, fuses of curiosity and ways of thinking. He knows his life here very well, and his role. He needs to be around other people and other families, and see how they operate. He needs to be around guys - something our all-female household simply can't give him. He needs to think about choices in life.

He told me once that being around other limb-difference people is easier, because they totally understand what it feels like to live that way. I can't understand it. I haven't lived it. I hope this weekend was not only a great life example but a time to relax, because when one feels relaxed it's easier to think about a lot of different ideas.

However, as Mother said last night, I also have been thinking a lot about how much I've missed him. We have missed him terribly.

This is the hardest part of a mother's love, letting your baby go, knowing they will come back changed, and trusting that the love you feel for them, and they for you, is strong enough to withstand different experiences. I trust that the "new Michael" will have some better ideas about his future and what he likes and doesn't like.  I hope and pray he will know he can be a successful man, despite his limb difference.

He is very loved. He has so many choices. As much as I hate to let him find his own way without me, my heart soars to think of him being more sure of himself as he goes into the future.

The Kitchen Cruiser and Other Stuff

So life was a whirlwind yesterday. As Ferris Bueller says "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."

I am still battling a stomach virus of some kind, and not feeling great. Strangely enough, the "remedy" that has helped me the most has been to drink a glass of tap water with a teaspoon of baking soda stirred in. Old home remedy, but it works.

This is Lola, watching us eat dinner last night. Our family room [built in 1968] is "sunken" - a step down from the kitchen and foyer and back hallway. She likes to rest her head on the family room floor and look up at us pitifully. Nevertheless, she didn't get any pizza...

I was taking Michael to school this morning and stupidly left a lb. of bacon on the counter. When I got back, I discovered Lola had eaten the ENTIRE lb. of bacon!! Yesterday she ate half a loaf of bread. She cruises the kitchen countertops on her hind legs and nothing is safe.

Tomorrow morning at 10:45 we will be at Petsmart, and she will start a training class to learn to behave herself. That is going to be interesting...

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Another 504 Meeting for Michael yesterday but I felt rotten all day [the virus this week has been horrible] and I couldn't attend. In case you don't know about 504 plans, here is a great explanation by the excellent Wrightslaw website:

"Section 504 was enacted to "level the playing field" - to eliminate impediments to full participation by persons with disabilities. In legal terms, the statute was intended to prevent intentional or unintentional discrimination against persons with disabilities, persons who are believed to have disabilities, or family members of persons with disabilities."

Because of Michael's missing hand, he is entitled to accommodations; for example, extra time on writing assignments.

He doesn't like having the 504, but it has helped him in a lot of ways. For example, today for one of his classes he was required to wear dress clothes. He wore khakis, a dress shirt, a blue blazer and a tie.

Well, except for the pants and blazer, the whole outfit took much longer to manage. I had to help him with the shirt buttons and the tie. Putting on a belt takes him a bit lnoger, too. He couldn't dress out for PE. So I sent the PE teacher an email explaining that he needs to be excused from dressing out today under his 504 plan.

The sad thing is that a lot of parents have no idea what a 504 plan is, or how to get one. Some school systems will refuse to implement one unless there is an attorney involved. I should've had one for my daughter because she has a learning disability but I didn't know it and the school didn't tell me about it. That was before I met Kristyne Seidenberg. She does education law, in addition to wills and estates and litigation. She got Mike's 504 plan implemented and it's working, this year. Last year the school never did anything about it.

 

Looking Up

Wow, it's already been a day of blessings. Recently there have been some tough days, and days when I just wanted to crawl back in bed and pull up the covers, but today [so far] seems to be a good one, despite being rainy.

The Amputee Coalition puts out a magazine called InMotion, and it's for amputees. We read it every time Michael goes to the prosthetics clinic. I pitched an article idea to the man who edits it, and he published it. If you click here you should be able to see the story.

Michael likes to have the prosthetic to wear, but he doesn't wear it most of the time. He wears it at school and sometimes in situations where he's the newcomer and a bit self-conscious, but it's mostly a heavy hindrance.

Michael seems to be over the worst of the concussion, knock wood. I picked him up from school yesterday at 1:30 so he could come home and rest. He ate a good dinner last night and a good breakfast this morning - fried rice, his favorite.

His head is healing up nicely.

I have crockpot French Onion soup ready to go for dinner, and I'm going to make some roasted cauliflower.

I have friends coming in this weekend and I am so looking forward to seeing them and making a terrific dinner Saturday night. I am fixing up the guest room and I found a terrific bed cover on sale yesterday. It really ties the room together. [Unlike the rug, LOL]

Michael and I watched the last Breaking Bad episode on Netflix last night. Now we need to figure out how to watch the current season's shows.

I've got work to do, Yay, so I am signing off.

Mike in 2007, his first year ever to trick or treat

My Awesome Son from Kazakhstan

I spent a good deal of time yesterday working on an article for a magazine aimed specifically at folks with limb differences, inMotion. I have seen the magazine at the clinic where Michael goes to get his prosthetic fitted and adjusted.

The article I wrote is not long, but the thesis is simply that not all UE [upper extremity] limb difference folks choose to wear a prosthetic.

If you think about it, it makes sense. If you are a LE [lower extremity] limb different person, you will find it impossible to walk without a prosthetic. Most people will choose a prosthetic over a wheelchair or crutches, absent other issues.

If you are missing a hand, or even an entire arm, however, you have more choice.

Michael lost his right hand and forearm to frostbite when he was 5 years old. Can you imagine being 5 years old and being told that if your hand isn't amputated, you will die? It boggles my mind and makes me very sad every time I think of that.

Michael has a remarkably good attitude about his missing hand. Rarely have I ever heard him complain about it, even though he sometimes gets frustrated with manual tasks such as cutting.

I have been reading a blog for a while by a young pastor in Wisconsin who has the same limb difference as Michael. his blog is Living One Handed. I really like it, because he aims to have a positive influence on people who live with only one hand.As he says:

"My aim in life is to help people realize they are valuable.

They are lovable.

They are important.

Hopefully my story, my life, will help you to find and live yours."

See this little guy, with his pants that are too big? This is Michael in 2007, in my hotel room in Kazakhstan, playing with an inflatable beach ball I brought from America. See that grin on his face? He already knew he was loved and wanted, and would soon be heading to a new life in America.

There are hundreds of kids with limb differences needing to be adopted.

Most people when they talk about adoption say they want a "healthy" child. They don't want to consider a child who is not, in their eyes, "whole." What they fail to realize is the amazing resilience of a child who may be viewed as "handicapped" by the rest of the world, but who has learned to adjust to his or her limitations and find joy in life anyway.

I belong to a Yahoo group of parents of kids with limb differences, and what I hear over and over from parents who are newly home with their kids is that these kids are amazing.There are 897 members of the group. That's a lot of kids in loving homes.

I was corresponding with another parent about my article and she shared this about her 3 year old son:

"We adopted him from China, he has been home 13 months. Very social. Says hi to everyone. He has become quite the singer, he will serenade ladies at the grocery store with "twinkle, twinkle little star"."

Does that sound like some poor, pitiful little "handicapped" child??

I remember when I was in the process of adopting Michael, some folks looked at me with great skepticism and/or awe, that I would take in a little charity case, like what I was doing was a humanitarian gesture. Nothing could be further from the truth. I knew instinctively that he was the right child for us. The agency said he had a great personality, was intelligent, got along well with other kids, and was totally self-sufficient.The missing hand was really not important to me, although I felt bad that in Kazakhstan he was viewed as a person who would always depend on government assistance and would find it probably impossible to get a job when he grew up.

I also was able to get information on Michael from The Antares Foundation because their CEO had been to Kazakhstan and met Michael, and could tell me truthfully what a great boy he was.

When I traveled to Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, in March of 2007 and finally met Michael, after months of hearing about him and seeing photos sent by the good folks at Antares, I knew the moment I saw him he was my son. It didn't matter that he didn't speak English, or that he had spent his first 10 years without us. All that mattered was that I wanted a son and I knew he would be a wonderful addition to our family.

The kind of joy that I felt then, and still feel now, is beyond price. It's not a second-best choice, which is how a lot of people view adoption. Michael has always been my son, but it took me some time to figure that out. He has been a joy to me ever since he came home.

I have heard from several people over the years, folks who know Michael well, that they never think of him as having a missing hand. His personality, his intelligence, his kindness - these are the attributes that shine through. The hand is just not important.

I just wish more people would realize that:

1. Most kids with limb differences are just normal kids, and they can be an awesome addition to your family. Shriners will help your child get a prosthetic if he/she wants one, at no charge.

2. Adoption is not impossible to afford. There is an adoption tax credit of almost $13,000. I also got a $2,000 grant from the state of Georgia for adopting an older child, and a $3,000 grant from my employer.

Even if you don't have any desire to adopt, the fact that you are reading this is a good thing. There are lots of ways to help kids in foster care here, or in orphanages overseas. A good place to learn more is the Evan B. Donaldson Institute.

As you can see below, my son is all boy, and he can do ANYTHING.

Mike at camp in summer 2012, whitewater rafting

hitting golf balls last March

climbing the wall

swimming with Colton earlier this summer

How to Talk Right

In what classic song does the songwriter ryhme the words "hard" and "tired"? And it's an exact ryhme? Give up? I'll give you a hint. The songwriter was from Kentucky.

Pronounce the word "tired" like "hard" but starting with a "t" [in other words, "tard"]. Got it? Now you are speaking hillbilly.**

We had a very quiet father's day, since there are no fathers around here to celebrate. Errands, a trip to the grocery store, and then I came home and collapsed in a ball of sweat.

Have I mentioned that I love living in Atlanta 9 months of the year? We are in the 3 months I don't like, right now. I try to get all errands done before noon, but it doesn't always happen.

Michael finally got his prosthetic back, this morning. The hand had to be sent to Germany to be fixed. We went to CHOA for our 11:00 appointment and there was momentary panic because the prosthetist had forgotten to inform the front office staff that he had told me to come in this morning for a fitting. Yikes.

There were several babies in the waiting area and we had fun making faces at them, and waving Hi. This counts as great fun to Michael and I. I know, we're weird..

Came home and checked my side garden because we got a lot of rain last night. Found FIVE yellow squash, the perfect eating size!! I should've taken a photo. I was ridiculously excited. We have radishes almost ready and tons of green tomatoes. I just hope the rainy days this week don't do too much damage..

Some summers we are desperate for rain, but then this one we seem to have the opposite problem.

**We watched one of my favorite movies last night, Coal Minter's Daughter. I remember seeing Loretta Lynn in concert when I was a little girl, and my dad was a big country music fan, so that film has always been special to me. It reminds me of living in East Tennessee - my home for most of my growing up years and my 20's.

This is a video with Loretta singing the song, plus Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crowe. There are lots of photos and it's a fun video to watch, if you're a fan of Loretta.

 

Traffic and Chinese Food

I sat in the late afternoon traffic yesterday, inching along, and cursed [silently] because I had so stupidly gotten myself caught in late afternoon Atlanta traffic yesterday.

Michael's prosthetic hand was making funny popping noises and not working right, so I took the entire thing to Children's prosthetic clinic on Wednesday. The prosthetist removed the hand, fitted a loaner one onto the arm, and emailed me and said come get it. The malfunctioning hand had to be sent to Germany for repairs. Michael hates going to school without his prosthetic though - it just means more staring - so he really really wanted me to get it back. So off we went, across 285, at nearly 4 p.m.

Getting the prosthetic back was no problem. Getting anywhere else, after that, was problematic. Brilliant me, decided to go home Hammond Drive because there's an Old Navy on the way, near the mall, and I knew Michael needed socks.

So we go in Old Navy. Michael cannot choose socks. Too many choices. Fruit of the Loom sensory overload ensues. We are about to leave and he spots some tennis shoes. He tries on several pairs. I don't discourage this because there's a sign saying Sale $9.99. I think OK, money is tight, but I can afford that. The shoes look cool and comfy.

We go up to the cash register to pay. The clerk rings up the shoes and the total is more than $26! I tell her about the $9.99 sign. She trots off to investigate, without a word to me. So now I feel like I am being treated like a liar. AWKWARD. She comes back and informs me, without apology,

"Only the GREEN ones were that price. The rest of the shoes are $24.94."

Without losing my temper, I just shake my head. "C'mon Michael, let's go. They obviously don't want to sell us some shoes."

Michael is furious.

He has a splitting headache, too, which I feel bad about because I don't have my purse, just my wallet. I keep Motrin in my purse.

Then it takes us an HOUR to get home. No traffic? It would take 15 minutes, max.

So I took Michael out to a little neighborhood place for some Chinese food. He loves it, and we don't eat it often.

I notice that the TV in the tiny little Chinese place - and the entire place would fit in my family room - is a high def flat thing with a picture that's so clear it hurts my eyes. High tech is an understatement.

I last bought a new TV in 2003. It weighs 500 lbs and has to be hoisted by a winch to be moved anywhere.

That's what TV should be.

Otherwise somebody could get hurt.

Clearly, I am in the wrong business, this writing thing. I need to be either selling shoes or making Chinese food.

One Funny Note: Michael heard the young woman at the counter, who is obviously Chinese, speaking Spanish to an elderly Hispanic man. Michael's eyes got wide. "She speaks THREE LANGUAGES!" he exclaimed. I just looked at him.

"YOU speak three languages, Dude. English, Spanish, and Russian."

"My Russian is really bad now. I can't remember much."

"No, but it's all in your brain. You spoke it for the first 10 years of your life, Dude. You can get it back anytime you want. Listen to the Russian CDs I bought you."

He smiled.

"Oh, and the only Spanish I heard from her was "Grande o pequeño?" Not real impressive. I knew that much and I never studied Spanish."

He rolled his eyes.

I get that a lot.

I think he was more impressed by the fact she was a very pretty girl, and she knew fluent Chinese and English, which is impressive. And she was pretty.

Did I mention this place is 5 minutes from our house? And she's very pretty?! LOL

I have a feeling we will be eating a lot more Chinese food soon....

Adopting a Limb Difference Child

I belong to a Yahoo group for parents who have adopted limb difference kids, and sometimes folks join who are simply thinking about adopting a limb difference child. The rest of us try to give them a realistic picture of what they may face.

There was a posting yesterday by a family thinking about adopting a boy with a missing foot, a congenital difference. Lots of little ones from China have congenital limb differences. This family was concerned about modifying their house, physical therapy, etc. I decided to put my reply to them below, because on the chance somebody is thinking about adopting one of these precious children, there are some things they should know.

My son is missing his right hand, but I do have some thoughts here about lower leg limb differences.

A few weeks ago, my son participated in a fun day of wall climbing at a local climbing place. It was put on by a local outfit called Catalyst Sports. There were lots of kids and adults there missing their lower legs, and they were able to climb up these huge walls with very little assistance. Here's a link to the website: Catalyst Sports

My son Michael, adopted 6 years ago, is now 16. He is the light of my life. If I could adopt again, I'd adopt a child with a missing foot without hesitation. Decide whether he's right for you based on the child's personality, not his "disability." When I was in the process of adopting my son I had several folks say to me "How can you, as a single mom, handle a handicapped child?" I chuckle now, thinking about that. My son simply does some things differently, that's all. The words "handicapped" or "disabled" do NOT apply.

As for other concerns you may have:

You don't have to modify anything in your house. You don't have to take him to physical therapy, except maybe a few times if he's never used a prosthetic.

You don't have to worry about going bankrupt to care for a limb difference child. Shriners has helped me and a lot of parents to afford prosthetics. My son has a great prosthetic and I pay nothing for it. Other charitable groups will help too, like the Rotary Inner Wheel Foundation.

Yes, all of us parents have to deal with people staring, and sometimes asking thoughtless questions or making remarks. Sometimes our hearts ache for our kids because as they grow older  and head into adolescence they may become more self-conscious, like any other tween or teen. We worry about them stressing their other limbs, which are overworked to make up for the missing one. We worry about them being judged by others when they go to apply for jobs.

Many of our kids love sports. My son plays on the school tennis team and is a powerful and formidable opponent on the tennis court, and he always plays kids with two hands. His missing hand is irrelevant. He plays much better than many kids with two hands. He also swims like a fish, plays baseball, basketball, soccer, and likes jumping on the trampoline, bowling, roller skating, videogames - like most any other 16 year old boy.

He also helps me around the house with chores, and he is fixing to get his driver's license. He doesn't need a prosthetic to drive. He and my brother build things like bookshelves and garden boxes, and fix stuff around here. If a task is a challenge, my brother just stands back and encourages Michael to figure out a way to work the problem, and Michael always finds a work-around.

The beautiful thing about my son - and I'm sure other parents here will echo this - is that he has wonderful friends who stand by him and protect him from anyone who would say anything ugly. He inspires great affection and loyalty. His friends joke around about his prosthetic - it's not a taboo subject. They box with him, play chess with him, play sharks & minnows at the pool every summer. I invite you to see my website, The Crab Chronicles, which has many photos of my son and everything he does. He is a pretty normal kid.

I hope this gives you some idea of what you may expect if you decide to adopt a child with a limb difference. Feel free to email me offline if you have any other specific questions. Good luck!

Michael climbing a few weeks ago

Mike and some of his friends

A Positive Thought Regarding Boston

We were in Dick's Sporting Goods yesterday, Michael and I, picking up his newly re-strung tennis racquet. Michael didn't wear his prosthetic. One of the cashiers, a young black man, just stared and stared at us. I wanted to go over to the young man and say "What ARE you looking at?? You think it takes two hands to play tennis?!"

GRRR....

Michael never has trouble with his tennis team opponents staring or making rude comments. That's one nice thing about ALTA tennis; families are almost always nice, and kids are polite.

As I was finishing up dinner last night we saw a story I liked, Dance Teacher Who Lost a Foot in Bombing Vows to Dance Again.

(I saw the story on ABC News but the print story I linked to is better, more complete.)

If there is any good thing to come out of the tragedy of Boston, it may be an expanded awareness that if you lose a foot or a leg, you can still have a good life, an active life. You do not have to have 4 limbs to play sports.

Above, Michael skiing. Below, he climbs.

He also plays basketball:

Above, Michael whitewater rafting.

So just be aware that amputees can lead very full, happy lives, regardless of their disability.

Catalyst Sports Climbing Clinic

I spent the morning watching Michael climb the walls. Literally. He was a good sport about getting up early to get to the Adaptive Climbing Clinic put on by Catalyst Sports.

A lot of folks with limb differences think sports are out for them, but that's not true. With a little extra help, they can do sports, even rigorous ones limb climbing, in a lot of cases. I really like the mission statement for Catalyst:

"The Vision for catalyst sports is to be an agent that provokes a significant change or action in the lives of those in the disabled community. We look to discover ways to get those involved that are otherwise turned away … not interested ……in the mainstream sports that most cities offer. We look to provide very unique recreational opportunities that are otherwise difficult to participate in as someone with a disability and to open up their eyes to see all of the possibilites. We also look to connect the young with the old, the new with the experienced, and the strong with the weak in order to build each other up and enjoy the community that we live in together. And in all that we do here at Catalyst sports we do together so that we might glorify God."

Michael had some trepidation about climbing and we knew the Stone Summit Rock Climbing facility is pretty pricey. It's 5 minutes from our house, though, so I was excited to see that Catalyst was offering the free clinic.

Catalyst is a 5013C charity and you can donate here.

There were a lot of folks there, and Mike ran into some of the same folks who help out with his Adventure Amputee Camp in the summer. They also had free gifts, and a cute tee shirt, refreshments, etc.

Below are some photos. Mike is not in the one directly below but it gives you an idea of the size of the place.Picture a facility twice as big as what you see in this photo:

Mike tried a smaller wall at first:

Then he went for one of the bigger walls downstairs:

Too bad he lost his head on the way up...

just kidding.

One of the instructors called Michael "a natural climber" and was very complimentary.

Michael met a young man with his exact same limb difference who likes to climb and has been doing it for a while.

Seriously, these folks put on an excellent event, and we are so delighted to have been able to participate.

Michael Tries New Sports

At the end of the day yesterday I finally had time to take Michael out to the driving range not far from our house, so he could hit some golf balls.

It was a first for both of us. I don't play golf - except putt putt, but that likely doesn't count. Michael wanted to use his new/old golf club. Unfortunately, we figured out it's too long for him. The folks inside gave him a shorter club and that worked fine.

He hit 90 golf balls, some quite wildly, some beautifully. The guy next to us gave him some tips. I told him next time don't wear sandals. I noticed if he planted his right foot and swung his hips he hit better.

My grandfather Hasty loved golf, as did two of my four uncles - Bobby Hasty and Bobby Thompson. Dad liked golf but he wasn't a good player, because he lacked patience. He was better at faster games like tennis.

I told Mike he couldn't go to the driving range until he did some laundry. As soon as we got the new washing machine, we put it to use. Michael did several loads yesterday, and still has another load to do today. I'm hoping it rains this afternoon so his tennis match will cancel, and he can study for a Biology test and finish his laundry.

Mother went with us to Kroger yesterday, for the first time in a long time. The weather was beautiful. She gets in her little motorized cart and zips around all over the store. The cart she got yesterday was awful, unfortunately. It ran out of gas and left her stranded in the meat section. I felt so bad for her. Michael went up front to get her another cart, but it took some time, because the store was crowded and a lot of the carts were out.

Michael got to play tennis with a friend of mine yesterday morning who has been playing for many years, and they had a good session. While he played I had a chance to talk to another friend of mine down in the tennis hut, a fellow writer, and that was so pleasant. I also just enjoyed being outdoors - the hut is open to the air.

I made this last summer in the tennis hut - Bart, Colton and a little buddy were watching Michael play tennis.

Michael talked to Alesia after dinner last night, for almost 30 minutes. She likes to call and talk to him and catch up. She doesn't like talking to me because I am incapable of keeping the conversation light, and invariably I blurt out Mama stuff like "When are you going to finish your GED?!" or "When are you going to get a job?!" Michael has more self-control. He doesn't like to talk on the phone a lot, but these conversations with his sister are good for him, forcing him out of his shell, making him express himself.

We finished watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Great film. Anyone trying to teach kids about the Senate and how it works should show them this film. Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur are superb.

My friend/cousin Lesleigh, who is out in Austin Texas studying acupuncture, sent me a link to a really interesting story, Ear acupuncture 'changing lives' of those affected by PTSD. I am skeptical, but I hope it's true, I really do. I would love for Alesia [who has severe PTSD] to get treated with acupuncture.

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Whether or not he ever becomes a great golfer, I love that Michael is eager to try new sports. He was in a good mood all day yesterday, looking forward to trying to hit the golf ball. There is no reason to think people with limb differences can't do sports.

I am reading Double Take: A Memoir, by Kevin Michael Connolly, a young man who was born without legs but has become a writer and athlete. We watched some of his new show on the Travel Channel yesterday. He is really a smart, funny guy, with a terrific attitude about his disability. Watch Meet Kevin Michael Connolly and I think you will be amazed.

Kevin gets stared at and questioned all the time. Michael gets some of that, but not as much. There was a 6 year old little brother of Mike's opponent watching them play tennis the other day, and the child said "Look, Mom! He doesn't have a hand!" and the mom shushed him. I debated whether or not to explain it, but decided not to get into it right then. It's Mike's story to tell. He won his match. I figure that's the best way to show the child that you don't need 4 limbs to play tennis.

A friend sent me an article in the paper yesterday about a climbing clinic sponsored by Catalyst Sports and I am excited about it. I signed Michael up, after showing him the information. He is eager to climb. I know Michael will have fun. It's wonderful the folks at Catalyst are doing this.