Chattanooga or Bust

 Today was a milestone. I have spent a lot of time dreaming of taking Joey on a "road trip" of some sort, and thought he might love a visit to the Chattanooga aquarium. We took a trip to Smith County to visit Granberry a couple of months ago, as a sort of mini road trip, and he did really well. That trip in particular was only an hour to get there, whereas the trip to Chattanooga is about 2 hours from our home. We were unable to take a home health nurse with us, so this ended up being a trip with Daniel and I as the nurses, but it was an extra special trip for us today since Rowan, Claire, Chandler,  Daniel's mom, and his brother got to join us. We literally had the whole crew and a couple of extras with us. It was a tight squeeze to fit everyone in our minivan, double stroller, and all of our medical equipment for Joey, but we made it work!

If you haven't been to the aquarium, there are two buildings-one includes exploring creatures of the river, and the other building (our favorite) that represents the ocean life.  We loved the penguins. Joey simply loved looking at the fish.  I loved that all my children were at the same place. :) I also loved that Ben and Jerry's was within walking distance of the aquarium!

Although some may consider Chattanooga a short an easy day trip, it took an incredible amount of preparation for us. Daniel's brother marveled at how much work it took for us to load Joey in and out of the van-along with the ventilator, oxygen tank, suction machine, pulse ox, medicines, diaper bags, and all the things that come with having a medically fragile child. He simply told Joey that we must really love him. He could not be more spot on.  It's tough to travel with Joey, and no one ever said it would be easy.  Just because it can be difficult, doesn't mean that we stop moving. We keep going because we love him. It's amazing what you can do in life because you're motivated by love.  That love then turns to gratitude. To the outsiders looking at us, please don't ever feel sorry for us, because I don't feel sorry for myself.  I am absolutely grateful and thank God every day for my beautiful family and the complex life that I get to live with Joey.  I can’t wait to see where the next adventure takes us!