When we were at Toronto Island I wanted to challenge Nick and see what he would do if I took off the 'K' from his KAFOs. And then of course he decided to challenge himself further by walking over cobblestones
My thought was since the testing and surgery came from needing more bracing, now that he has had the surgery and is/has recovered so well, we should see what he can do with less support.
When we got home I took a video of him on some stable ground to see how he is.
His knees are more wobbling. But they have been supported for a year.
But he is able to do it.
And it is a balance between bracing him too much and compromising muscles getting stronger, and not bracing enough and causing injury or incorrect (cheating) form. What we want is enough support to allow him to be functional and not waste his energy and strength.
It was time for our Christmas present!
Thanks to my sister and her family we were on a Pirate Adventure at Centre Island, Toronto.
We got to ride the ferry to the island, which the kids thought was lots of fun!
Katheryn wanted to be right up at the front
Nick in his chair couldn't get up tot he top deck, but he had fun sitting with is cousin
Katheryn enjoyed being out with her Daddy
Nick liked playing with this little girl
We headed through the park to Pirate Life.
Which had a giant pirate ship to play with
Katheryn liked the stocks.
For our pirate adventure we had to make sure that we were dressed like a pirate!
Nick was very specific that he wanted blue
And then he had the opportunity for some pirate makeup.
He knew exactly what he wanted
This was everyone's reaction
Arr! Who are ye pirates!
Everyone is ready for some treasure hunting!
I even grabbed a selfie with this land lubber!
Oops! Until they caught him for his pirate upgrade
As we journeyed through the seas of Lake Ontario we were told a harrowing story about a lost treasure and a curse
The was lots of activities they got people to participate in
Like the Jellyfish song (which I don't have any pictures of, because I was helping Nick. But I'm sure if you ask my father he will sing it for you
There was participation from the audience
But I think when my father was chosen, they had no idea what they were in for!
We got a beautiful view of the CN Tower and city of Toronto
Then it was continuing on our journey for the treasure
Katheryn found a parrot
Nick started to get tired (the weather was beautiful and sunny, but hot)
But when enemy ships came near we were able to cool down
In the end, we were able to break the curse
The kids favorite thing to do was fire the cannons!
It was a great pirate adventure!
The only negative was that when we all got off the ship we had a bunch of people who came between Nick and Kyle and me. So when Nick got off the ship, he slipped and fell down with his crutches, but Kyle and I were too far away to help.
He got some bruises on his arms, and it scared him. But he was able to calm down, and we had a pirate who sat with us until Nick started feeling better.
Then it was time to check out more things at Centre Island.
Nick isn't allowed on any rides, so we stayed away from the rides. Katheryn had fun running through the sprinklers
And she enjoyed the maze
There was some pools that the kids went into. I hadn't even though to bring a bathingsuit. But I did bring a change of clothes for everyone, so they were able to get dry.
We decided to try taking off the tops of his braces to see how he would walk.
He was a little wobbly, but was able to do it!
The pirates had recommended a restaurant at the far end of the islands.
They said it had good food and reasonable prices.
We hadn't actually realized how far away it was.
We walked, and walked, and walked.
We did get a couple places for some scenic views
After about 45 minutes of walking we made it to the restaurant, the Island Cafe.
I wasn't very impressed and I wouldn't recommend it.
We got lousy service. I never received my drink and Kyle got attitude over ordering his beer.
Everyone finished their food before Jamie and I even got our burgers. And when we got our burgers and bit into it, the inside was all red. While the 2 of us wondered if it was undercooked we were finally able to flag down a waitress we were told it was ketchup and vegetables and not raw.
I wasn't very happy considering we actually spent a lot of time and energy to get there.
These cousins had a great day together
And the kids played High 5 while we waited for ice cream!
The restarurant was right across from the ferry.
So luckily no more walking!
We liked visiting with the little animals so much we decided on a trip to the zoo.
We hadn't seen the giant panda cubs yet, so we thought we would see them first. Especially when the sign at the door said there was only a 15 minute wait.
So we waited
And waited
And waited
(This is what Katheryn looks like right before we go in, after waiting over 1 hour)
But we did get to see the 2 baby pandas
We got 2 minutes before we had to move along.
I think we got a bit extra time to let Nick get up in his wheelchair so he could see
And one of the adult pandas was in the other exhibit
Katheryn liked climbing on everything that she could find
And Nick found the river full of fishes
We stopped for Beaver Tails before seeing more animals.
And we took a break from the sun
And Katheryn found that she actually does like to try new things. And inhaled her Beaver Tail
We went to see the Polar Bears (Katheryn's favorite). But they weren't really out
Since we stopped Nick wanted to stretch his legs with his crutches.
He has gotten so incredible with his crutches he didn't actually want to get back into his chair.
Katheryn had lots of fun and even posed for a picture with minimum complaint.
We got to see Nick's favorite animal, the penguins.
They really liked playing with the stands that are at the exhibit and not so much the penguins themselves.
And Nick wanted to walk around the exhibit all by himself. (Katheryn took his chair so I didn't have to push it. But she was a little bit afraid of the hills)
The penguins weren't swimming today. But the kids like being underwater.
For our last animal we decided to visit the new lion cubs.
Again Nick didn't want anything to do with his chair.
it took a couple of minutes waiting for a window spot but Nick was able to get up close to these graceful creatures (Katheryn wasn't that interested)
Rory sleeps just like this
Nick walked so well with his crutches. He was just go go go!
Not only does he walk with them, but he runs with them!
You would think that after the day at the zoo and all of his walking that this boy would be tired.
Nope he decided to show off by walking up the stairs all by himself
