A Walk with Randy

Randy and I took a lovely walk this evening.  He pointed out the trees, grass, cars, and sticks.  I picked him up and he got to "hang" on a tree branch.  He said "Hi" to everyone we passed.  It was really a great walk.

But I was reminded of the fact that my son has some significant vision issues.  Most people do not realize it, or the ones that know forget.  Heck, I forget sometimes too.  But today I was reminded.

While we were walking, Randy would not notice changes in concrete height.  You know what I'm talking about?  You know how the sidewalk "lifts" and is higher sometimes?  Well Randy tripped right through those unless I stopped him and said "small step".  He simply could not see them.  He also stopped and "stepped" whenever the concrete was a different color.  He would say "big step" and lift his leg high to step although the concrete was level.

It just reminds me that although he is walking much better and seems to do OK, I must remember to monitor him closely outside and in unfamiliar places.  I need to remind others to do the same.  He has already fallen three times this spring and bruised his knees pretty bad.

The knee on the left has fresh wounds that you cannot see.  I'm tempted to put on some knee pads, but I do not want to make him feel like a baby (he is starting to push me away when other kids his age are around).

I hope that orientation and mobility can help him learn how to navigate his environment a little more safely.  Until then he has a long summer ahead.