Keep the Prayers Comin'

It has been quite the day. We arrived in Colorado after spending 2 days with Mike's family in Nebraska and were getting settled into our cabin for our annual small group reunion when we had a major God thing happen in our lives. After travelling to North Carolina and doing the hyperbaric therapy with Seth I was wanting to really hit him hard with therapy this summer - but this didn't seem to be in the cards as we are down a therapist at home and then would be traveling for 2 weeks on vacation. So I pretty much just resigned myself to our summer schedule and thought that perhaps the break would do him good and we could really get back to more intensive therapies in July or August.

Well this afternoon God answered a prayer that I hadn't even prayed. When we were checking in at the YMCA of the Rockies - Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park I noticed a check-in table in the main registration building for Adam's Camp. Staff were wearing t-shirts and there were bags sitting on the table that said Adam's Camp - Realizing Potentials, Developing Strengths. I thought "hmmm" - that sounds like it might be a camp for kids with disabilities.

We were the first of our reunion group to arrive at the camp and were waiting for the rest to arrive so I had the time to ask what this was all about. I spoke with the gal at the table who I later learned was the director of Adam's Camp - and mom to Adam. She told me they had five week-long camps each summer for kids with disabilities and this week was one of their autism weeks. Throughout the week the children received 5 hours of intensive therapy daily from 5 interdisciplinary therapists. Along with interventions for the affected child there is sibling camp each morning and many fun family activities. The lady at the check-in table invited me to come check it out while we were here and see if this would be something we might be interested in for next summer.

About this time the rest of our reunion group arrived and we took off for our cabin. Mike and I told our friends about this neat camp that was going on, and Mike and I wondered if there was a chance they'd had a cancellation and maybe could work Seth in. Our friends encouraged us to go check it out. Mike headed back up to the registration building and spoke with the check-in lady again. When Mike asked if there was the possibility of Seth being involved in the camp her initial response was "no" - this camp usually fills up 9 months in advance and they have people on waiting lists. But she quickly realized that indeed there had been a cancellation and the families on the wait list had been unable to get to Colorado on short notice. They told us this was a first in the 20-year history of their camp. The director also said it seems it was meant to be!

So just about an hour and a half after arriving for our reunion we were attending an orientation meeting for Adam's camp. The other families we met are amazing, the staff is incredible (speech therapist, music therapist, occupational therapist, art therapist, special ed teacher), and the way that God opened this door is pretty cool! That we just happened to be at this camp for our reunion on the first day of Adam's camp is a God thing - a God incidence as I like to call them. The stories that parents are telling us about the gains that kids make during this week are pretty astounding.

I have seen some changes in Seth over the past couple weeks - the small, but observable gains I shared about in my previous post, and a growing awareness of the world and people around him. I have had the sense that we are on the verge of something and with the door that was opened for him to attend this camp I'm hopeful that this week of intensive therapy could be a stepping stone for further growth. So, Tuesday morning Seth will begin Adam's Camp. I am amazed at how God opened this door to provide Seth the intensive therapy I was feeling he needed.

So keep those prayers coming - God is at work. The past couple weeks have been a challenge - I have struggled to keep the hope alive. This opportunity gives me the courage to continue to hope - God is obviously looking out for us and working in an amazing way to guide us to programs that can help Seth. We will probably now be in Colorado through Saturday to finish out the camp and then head onto Utah a bit late - but that's okay as this seems to be where God wants us to be for Seth.