Joey and Chandler’s First Trip to the Beach

 We did a thing and headed to Panama City Beach for four nights. It was scary and hard, but I try really hard to not live in fear, so we took a leap of faith, grabbed Joey’s former night nurse and took a trip down to Panama City Beach.  What was so special about this trip was we celebrated Chandler’s 5th birthday as well, so it really was just a bunch of firsts all around. What was exceptionally wonderful was we stayed at our friend Julie’s vacation rental which was perfect for Joey since there was an elevator in her house.  Since Joey is a medically complex kid, he requires a lot of equipment.  That’s the difficult part with Joey is the preparation and having the space to pack all his equipment. What made me even more nervous was there was not a nearby DME who could service his equipment or provide extras in case our equipment broke down or if we left something home. There are a lot of variables involved when traveling with Joey. God forbid Joey get sick while away from home. I’m not very trustful of other hospital systems, and some are more trisomy friendly than others.  I signed  Joey up for an extra insurance policy in case we needed transportation back to our home hospital. Even though I’m thankful we didn’t have to use it, that extra $100 was worth my peace of mind it have a plan to get home should things go awry. 

Once I got past all my what ifs, I rented a beach wheelchair that had the ability to float in the water. The first day was the best day, but challenging because the access to get the chair to water was tough.  Once we got Joey in the chair, he had the best time sitting in the ocean. The third day, we found a wider access point where it was much easier to push the chair and we only had to conquer 3 stairs to the sand. It was much easier than our first attempt.  

While we were at the beach, we celebrated Chandler’s 5th birthday at a restaurant in Panama City and he woke up to a day filled with toys Claire and Daniel picked up from Aldi.  I love how multifaceted Aldi is. You never know what kind of treasure you’re going to find!

On our last day, we went to a Pirate dinner show (although I felt like I was in Gatlinburg, but was in Florida instead). Chandler and Joey were both mesmerized by the lights, the diving, the seals-really everything about the show. My mom said that the show was the best part. She didn’t realize seals were so smart! I am so glad we had my mom was with us for this trip. We were both really missing my dad, and it seemed like he should have been there. I know he would have really enjoyed the trip and the food at the show. 

I also personally loved perusing Rosemary Beach-with their Sunday Farmer’s market and I spoiled myself with a latte every morning at Ama Vide.  

And of course, we never could have done this trip without Nurse Connie. She helped us create memories that are priceless.

I am amazed and in absolute awe that we went from 11 months  in the NICU to bathing in the ocean!

God is good! 

https://www.facebook.com/slaphappypcb? The link to Julie’s back house that is equipped with an elevator. It is ideal for our medically complex families-with a lot of retirement.

Where we rented our beach wheelchair. They will drop the wheelchair off where you are staying, so it’s super convenient. 

https://beachpoweredmobility.com/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=maps