At long last....June 29th was here and it was time for Surfer's Healing. Matthew has been excited for months but due to his recent circumstances....lets just say his attitude has been dark. It was a beautiful day and Izzy and his wonderful crew were there waiting for our kids with kindness and incredible patience. Keiko and Rob came down to film the day too.
As expected these days, Matthew had a blow out and was aggressive and assultive with the Surfer's Healing team and Keiko who was trying to help him into a wetsuit. After several kicks and hits to the face of everyone helping some of the volunteers just threw a life jacket on him and played with on the beach and tried to calm him down. As a parent of a child with autism, your mind immediately thinks "Oh no. Here we go again" and I felt tears coming. But no......the clouds parted and the sun came back out when Puna (Matthew's instructor) put him on a board and brought him into the water. Well, he screamed on the way out but enjoyed the thrill of surfing and got up on the waves in! It was so exciting and for that time, he was just a kid named Matthew having a blast, autism was on the back burner for a short time. He was happy, laughing and being a boy. He did awesome and we are thinking of taking him to a week long family surf camp next summer with the Paskowitz Camp.
Look at him go!
In looking back, I wish we could have gotten the suit on him because the water was COLD and coming out was hard but wow! What a wonderful experience!
Izzy Paskowitz the founder of Surfer's Healing and a beautiful and kind soul.
Love you Izzy!
Thank you to Keiko and Rob for coming down to spend the day and film this incredible memory.
We loved sharing this day with friends too!
We loved sharing this day with friends too!
Yes, the hot blonde is my sister.
Thank you Puna for giving us a memory for a lifetime. You are a gift!
Thank you Surfer's Healing for giving our beautiful children the gift of surfing.
It was a reminder that all things are possible.
I will always have a place in my heart for you all!
4 comments:
What a wonderful day. I am glad Matthew was able to have this experience and hop that all things are better for him soon.
You are an amazing mom with an amazing spirit and love for your boy. You inspire me and I'm happy we've met and become friends. I was so honored to be able to share that day with such incredible families all there with a common cause the love our kids.
So cool. Looks like a wonderful day. I hope things get better for your little man soon.
Looks like lots of fun. What a trooper!
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