Hart Walker

How is this for a story!

Boo Boo was recently approved to receive a Hart Walker. This is an amazing piece of kit. At first view, it looks like some torture rack from the days of the Inquisition. But it's actually an ingenious machine that teaches kids how to walk the way you and I take for granted. In that sense it's a gait trainer, once strapped in you have to walk by moving your knees up and down and keep your legs apart. No tip toeing, no knee knocking and no skateboarding like on the Kaye walker. You see, with the Kaye walker you use your hands to move the walker forwards, and as long as your legs support you and keep you upright, you walk. But many kids end up using their legs to push off in any sort of way, there is no need to do the normal walking movement. Well, the Hart Walker is designed to make you do that. This way, the brain has to work out that walking comes from the legs and not the arms. And your legs build up muscle memory of what walking means.

We were very lucky that Boo Boo was approved for the scheme. I was expecting to either spend many months on a waiting list, or pay for it ourselves, yet again. But we got even luckier - the Australian Lions Children’s Mobility Foundation agreed to fund a Hart Walker for our Boo Boo.

She was very exited to get this - and you should have seen her face when she realised she had her arms free with this walker, and all movement had to come from her legs...

So, this is the first piece of kit ever - yes, ever, for both our kids - that we did not cover ourselves or within our extended family.

While for us this is amazing in itself, just wait until you hear who did pay for the walker: Vic did!

Look:

This on the left is Vic. Yes, he paid for the walker. And no, we had never met Vic before.

Vic is an 87 year old retiree. Who decided to donate some money to the Australian Lions Children’s Mobility Foundation so that a child he had never met before got a chance to learn to walk.

Vic is at an age where, in my view, he is totally justified to think about himself and his own health only. Yet here he is, unselfishly donating money to help a total stranger. What a man eh?! He is an inspiration!

Vic might have donated money to a stranger. But he's no longer a stranger to us.

My Dave Moment

On Sunday, I had a "Dave Hingsburger moment."

For those of you who haven't "met" Dave yet, you simply must have a look at his fantastic blog. Dave is a long-standing and very powerful disability advocate, who does not shy away from confronting people who are discriminatory towards people with a disability. I read his blog and admire not only his insight and analytical powers (not to mention how consistently articulate he is) and wonder where he finds the courage to do what he does.

Well, on Sunday evening, from somewhere deep inside me, came that same courage.

Hubby and I decided to go to the movies at the nearby Mall. It was a cold and wet Sydney evening, and the car park was kind of busy. We joked about how inconvenient it was that we didn't have our kids with us (not really, we were enjoying a night out together) because the only close parking spot was the disabled one. So we parked further down and walked back in the rain. Just as we got there, two young guys in a brand new black shiny Audi parked themselves into the disabled spot. Not a permit in sight.

And something came over me.

I stopped.

I looked at them. And I stood there. I shouted to hubby to go along, I'd come later, when I was done there.

The driver's mate looked embarrassed and focused intensely on the floor. The driver tried to ignore me. I stood there. The thought crossed my mind that he might come out and sock me one. I decided to stay nevertheless.

After a few minutes the driver couldn't take it any more and came out. Asked me what the problem was.

I told him I didn't see a disabled permit. He explained that he was just picking someone up. I explained to him that that is not ok. That he might be the difference between someone with a disability being able to enjoy an evening at the movies or not. Someone like my daughter. Or maybe his grandma. I told him that what he was doing was just as illegal as driving through a red light. And I told him that I would report him, and took a photo of his licence plate with my mobile as I said that.

He was not impressed, clearly couldn't give a toss.

And then I said:

"You are a very arrogant young man. I'm glad I'm not your mother, I would be deeply ashamed of you".

And that's when I "got" him.

His face twitched and I could see I had hit a nerve. Family was clearly important to him, and I had just shamed him where it mattered.

So I walked away.

He stayed put, of course. Wouldn't move his car for dear life.

But I got him. I think he won't ever park in a disabled spot again without some sense of shame.

I don't know what came over me, why I decided to challenge him. But I'm glad I did. Maybe I'm getting more radical in my old age. Maybe I'm just plain silly. I would never thought that I would dare to do this sort of thing. Maybe it's the the consistent reading of Dave's posts that have crystallised into action.

All I can say is "Thanks Dave!"

(and yes, the movie was nice. Especially since it was ages since my lovely hubby and I went out together).