The Adventures of Sam and the Shiny New Scooter

Due to Sam's numerous hip surgeries and his inability to weight bear for any length of time we decided to try for a scooter for Sam.  After a few insurance snafus it was finally approved and arrived a week ago.  Sam has been sick for a couple of weeks so today was our maiden voyage on his new scooter.  Sam did have a trial one to work on steering and to master the controls so I knew we were ready to work on our first chore...retrieving the mail. I always like to start with simple auditory instructions and see how much Sam picks up and then as he performs the task I have some idea of the areas I need to work on further.

So far so good...he appears to be ready to go and headed in the right direction.  After a brief issue with the video recorder we continued our adventure.  Sam jumped right on, turned the key and was ready to go.

I LOVE how he stops, turns around and smiles as he realizes the new found independence he has just received.  The first problem arises at the end of the driveway because Sam has been instructed not to drive on the road.  During our trial period Sam thought on more than a few occasions that he might drive into Port Washington and visit his Dad and brother at work....hence why the "NO DRIVING ON THE ROAD" rule was put in place.  I will have to show him how to STOP, look for cars and then proceed to pull up next to the mailbox so he does not even have to get off, then to look again and TURN AROUND (Yeah, I was pretty sure he would be testing that boundary) and return to the house. Did you notice the wee bit of panic in my voice when he headed toward Highway C???  Luckily we live on a dead end road and most of our neighbors know to watch for Sam.

Sam decided he liked driving his new scooter and decided to take it around our circle a few times.  I went into the house to watch from a window giving him a further sense of independence.  I know it sometimes makes my fellow moms of children with special needs and some friends and family members nervous when I work on Sam's independence...just wait until he has mastered the skill and I patiently wait for him to return to the house.  It's okay...by that time I'll have it timed and I can run or bike faster than that scooter can go but please heed my warning on the end of the second video.  If you turn on your TV and see Highway C or Interstate 43 is closed as police try to catch a young man on a scooter...you are probably going to want to call me or Jeff...QUICKLY.  He continued to circle a few times, enjoying riding through the water puddles...what boy wouldn't??  I then notice he has stopped, I see him get off, his hands up in the air and as I open the window I hear "What da heck???"  I knew I better check this out and this is what I found.

I honestly couldn't help but laugh even though Sam was a little distressed...especially since Jeff HATES when people drive off the edge of his driveway and into the mud and leave ruts.  Sam had sunk in the mud and was just a spinnin those tires.  Thankfully Sam's scooter has a release switch in the back that allows me to pull or push it without use of the motor...well that certainly came in handy...otherwise we would have had to call brother Ben to winch him out.  Hee Hee!  I encouraged Sam to drive it through the puddles a few more times to get some of the mud off...well I guess he certainly broke it in.

Ya just gotta LOVE this little man!  More adventures to come!!