Amputee Coalition: Day 3

I realize I have to break down all kinds of lessons and information I learned during the Amputee Coalition‘s national conference. So I’ll give a quick rundown of our final day taking part in the conference. I had hoped to attend one session on prosthetic hand technology, but trying to get a little girl out the door on time didn’t work for me.

We did get there in time for Jordan to take part in a “First Swim” through the the Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Jordan had 50 minutes in the pool with three different, wonderful coaches who encouraged Jordan to swim. She was swimming at the end of last summer, but we lost some skills over the winter while we focused on dance and soccer. (I take full blame.) So it was fun to see Jordan get new encouragement for this year’s swimming season.
After finally convincing Jordan out of the nearby hot tub at the pool, we had lunch with a wonderful family and their five month old son who has a hand difference. They are a caring and fantastic couple and their son is so freaking cute. We also had a chance to introduce them to another Born Just Right friend who lives in the area who came by with her mom and grandma. She’s three and we had a chance to play… There were two very beautiful girls running around the Crown Center. It was fun (and exhausting). I’m so glad we could spend happy time together.

We had a really cool moment right after we had bought the girls ice cream when I noticed Kevin Carroll nearby. He is the prosthetist who played a big role in building a prosthetic for Winter the Dolphin who is the star in an upcoming movie Dolphin Tale. The kids had a chance to talk to him. It was a chat we won’t forget. I really appreciate it. And WOW is Jordan excited about the movie. (It opens September 23rd by the way… We’ll probably have a Winter party that evening in my town!)

Kevin Carroll, Jordan and Jordan's stuffed Winter the Dolphin

After another meeting with a former student, her family and their 18 month old son, Jordan decided she wanted to take part in the closing banquet. We quickly learned my five-year-old did not have the patience or intrest in really being there. When she saw my dinner plate, she declared there was no way she was going to eat the dinner and only ate the roll. So we packed up and headed out. It was a great first conference experience for the two of us and hopefully we’ll be able to return and work with the Amputee Coalition to bring more families together during its events.