The healing powers of a stroller

Max took the baby for a walk in his old adaptive stroller yesterday, the one he often likes to wheel empty around our neighborhood.

Every single time I see him wheeling Ben, a part of me feels healed, although I didn't realize I still needed that.

The Maclaren adaptive stroller came from Max's Early Intervention physical therapist, who got it from another family she'd worked with. By the time Max aged out of EI he was walking. But she told us that he would likely get tired when he had to walk long distances, because of the CP. That's true, and over the years we've used it for day trips. When we go to theme parks these days, Max typically ends up in a wheelchair after a few hours. He walks well, but fatigues easily; his muscles work hard, especially since they're working through a fair amount of tightness.

Seeing Max with Ben in that stroller brings me back to the days when he was in EI, and makes me acknowledge how far Max has come—he's walking, he's pushing and maneuvering a stroller, he is owning it. It fills me with gratitude, for the progress and for the fact that Ben has such a loving, sweet brother (who really wants to take him to Disney World and/or SeaWorld). It makes me feel really, really lucky.