Another Wedding and More Photos

Our big event for October is another wedding, this time one of my cousins, Kelly, in Rhode Island.  In order to make the trip in one vehicle and to see how we liked one, we rented a wheelchair van.  It was an excellent experience, opening doors and deploying the ramp with buttons--very fun.  We had a very nice time, especially since my brother, Jason, and his family flew from California for the weekend.  We enjoyed the whole trip!  The vehicle itself was a bit noisy with some rattles and squeaks, but overall a good match for us.  We'll look into one for ourselves since Will is getting heavier and my shoulder isn't happy with that prospect.

Three generations of Dunham men.

Kelly (Robinson) Pray, the bride.

Grampy, Grammy, and Great Uncle Bob.

Will's cousins, Elliot and Blaise.

Uncle Jason and Aunt Felicia.

My cousins, Amy and Brian.

Bob, Kelly, Amy, and Brian.

Home from New England, Mom and Dad depart and we have a beautiful fall day to go to Tyler State Park to take some (okay, 70) family photos before we attend Crafts in the Meadow, a juried art fair at Tyler Park Center for the Arts.  A pet pig rescue organization is there and Will gets giggly at the feel of a piglet and the grunts it makes.  There was also a vendor selling silk scarves, each unique, made by or under the direction of the buyer.  Colored inks were dripped and squirted into long troughs of water where they floated.  Wires could then be drawn through the ink pools to create paisley patterns, flower shapes, and other abstractions.  Finally, the scarf is stretched taut above the trough and carefully lowered onto the surface, where is instantly absorbs the colors in the floating pattern.  The silk is pulled out and most of the water wiped off, leaving a one-of-a-kind wearable artwork.

Early Fall 2012

Our favorite season is autumn: the air is crisp, the colors are beautiful, the humidity is gone.  It's also a busy time of year, with all sorts of things happening.  We ended September with a visit from Ed Dacey, a friend from Fairfield University.  He was visiting Philadelphia with his sister and stopped to see us on his way home.  One week later, we participated in the Walk from Obesity, an annual public-awareness and fundraising campaign to help combat obesity.  Maggie runs the walk for Abington Memorial Hospital as part of her job.  Once the walk was done, we dashed home for a quick clothing change and went to the wedding of one her patients.  We decided to go to a local restaurant for dinner and then had a little fashion photo shoot at home since we get dressed-up so rarely these days.

Ready to walk at the Walk.

Home from the wedding.

Mom & Dad arrived on 2 October for a 16-day visit, the same day I have my first exam of my sore left shoulder.  I am referred to an orthopedist who sends me for an MRI exam (10 Oct.).  My follow-up with the orthopedist on the 22nd says that I have "impingement syndrome" and my shoulder is a "Type 2", which is more susceptible to the problem.  The solution is physical therapy and if that doesn't work, a cortisone injection.  I start on 25 October and want to go the recommended twice weekly, but the therapist's schedule and mine don't mesh that well, so it's a slow start.  Will's physical therapy is also on the increase, as he has his evaluation at Theraplay on 3 October and is recommended for twice weekly sessions, the same as his other two therapies.

In the meantime, the five of us attempt to participate in the annual BARC Walkathon on 7 October, a fundraiser for one of the agencies that helped Will before preschool.  Pouring rain dampens our enthusiasm, so after registering and getting our T-shirts, we splash our way along the walk route and abandon the event after a very short, very wet, and very chilly stroll.  The next day, one of the nurses at Will's school is working at the Lenape village exhibit at Churchville Nature Center.  We visit her and explore some of the native technology (gardening, fire starting, flint knapping, home construction) and Will participates in a dance.  Then on Monday, Maggie and I go to Easter Seals for Will's annual IEP meeting to assess his progress over the year and plan the coming 12 months.  It's a good collaboration among the various teachers, therapists, and ourselves.

Will with Patti, his school nurse.

Dancing at the Lenape village.