Saturday, September 3, 2011

Making the most of it

This week we have again been trying to make the most of Pads reducing mobility and stamina. On Tuesday we visited the West Midlands Safari Park. We were given complimentary tickets by dint of having been to 'Give Kids the World' in Florida. On leaving, GKTW we were presented with a document that entitled us to free entry to theme parks all over the world. The safari park is about the only UK participant in this scheme. I dont think we'll forget the nosy giraffes eating Cherios out of our hands while Pads was trying to prevent what he insisted was his breakfast from heading down the animal's neck!
We spent the night in a £9 Travelodge up there, which gave us a shorter trip up to Alton Towers, entry paid for through Tesco vouchers. Pads really enjoyed his first ride (Sonic Spinball) although it gave him neck pain shortly afterwards- a little disconcerting... but then both Ally and myself were feeling yanked about too! With a couple of paracetamol on board, Pads was willing to try one more ride - 'Rita' whereby one is accelerated along a rail gun to a speed of 60mph in just over 2 seconds. We were so tied up with making sure he was ok afterwards that we forgot to check the ride photo. While his siblings flew around the park, Pads and his parents  enjoyed the more sedentary delights of the aquarium, cable-cars and a pirate show. Although it may be gutting for 'normal' people to watch disabled folk cut to the front of the queues, it was not possible to get Pads to the park any earlier and he had no desire or capacity to go on more rides than he did. 
After a quieter day on Thursday, it was back on the road to Birdham for a day trip aboard Holly, Grandad's boat. The weather was perfect. 
Holly - a Nicholson 32

Today Pads has been recuperating. He had to be woken up to take his morning meds and only got up for a few hours this afternoon. Hopefully this will see him more lively tomorrow. He says he's glad the holidays are over because he expects 'normal life' to be a bit less hectic. Although we've done a lot, it's always been tailored to his ability to cope with whatever we were attempting.

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