We did it! We left the house and took a little vacation! Although my dad likes to say that we aren’t really back to normal yet as we chose to rent a house in the woods and only do outdoor activities but, nonetheless, this was a big step for us in light of the pandemic.

We rented a house near Lake Cumberland for a few days. We picked this location because it’s only a few hours away from home and easy for Jackson to make the car ride…and we could stay socially distant from people as Jackson and Luca aren’t yet vaccinated.

There are not many fully handicap accessible rental homes near Lake Cumberland so we had to pick the house that was best suited for our needs. We went with a house that had no steps to get inside but all the beds were on the second floor. We also asked my parents and aunt to come because we knew we would need help with Jackson and we needed another car to transport all of Jackson’s supplies. The house was not pet friendly so Rex had a staycation with Josh’s parents, who treated him like a king.

Packing was no joke! Our trips with Jackson are thoughtful and planned out. Whenever we take Jackson on vacation we make a list and check it twice to make sure we have everything he may need. Our list includes, but is not limited to, his wheelchair, jogging stroller, puréed food, g tube feeding supplies, extra g tube (just in case), suction machine, suction supplies, BiPAP, nebulizer, meds, supplements, diapers, chucks pads, oxygen concentrator, oxygen tank, baby monitor, and pulse oximeter. All of his supplies and our luggage fit in the van except that my parents drove down the jogging stroller and my aunt took some of our groceries.

After we got there we had to figure out where Jackson was going to sleep. All of the beds were on the second floor and the house had a spiral staircase, which we knew about before we rented it. I apparently married the Hulk and my husband carried Jackson, who weighs 67 pounds, up the stairs every night and back down again in the morning. Jackson hung out on the first floor during the day in order to limit trips on the spiral staircase. Josh makes it look easy in the video below but the first few trips were quite terrifying!

This Memorial Day weekend was a chilly one but the weather didn’t stop us. We rented a pontoon boat and Jackson experienced his first boat rides! The wheelchair easily rolled onto the pontoon and the bottom floor was big enough so that Jackson could lay down. Everyone got out on the water in the morning, we returned to the house after lunch for a break and then my mom and aunt graciously stayed behind in the afternoons/evenings with Jackson while Josh, Luca, my dad and I went back on the water or out for another adventure.

I think Jackson had a good time and I know Luca had the time of his life! These trips are a little stressful and require lots of planning but totally worth it. It feels good to get a little back to normal and give our children fun, typical experiences.

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