The freedom of water

I wish we had the money to buy a heated walk-in pool that started out shallow and got progressively deeper.  And that was indoors, but you could somehow make it outdoors in the summer.  Because I think we would live in it.  Or at least Hannah would.

To see her in the water is to see a kid who can walk, swim, float, kick...just like everyone else.  The freedom of the water is so liberating for her.  On land, things are a lot harder.  She will get there, I think she will.  But it will take time and a lot of work.


But to have the immediate gratification of being able to do this in the water is such a gift:

and this:

Before surgery, Hannah had a very hard time keeping her head above the water so independent swimming (even with floatation devices) was not easy for her.  We tried a lot of different things but had not really found the perfect option.  Now, because she can keep her head above water so well, can kick her legs independently of one another, and can keep herself upright or back float when she wants, she can swim with almost anything, as you can see! I also love how she is just hanging out, standing there with her water wings on, totally free.  The rec therapist with her today had tears in her eyes and said Hannah made her day; she could not believe how far she has come from the last time they swam together two weeks ago.  She also said she thinks Hannah is definitely a candidate for being able to learn to swim without any floatation devices in the future.  Horray!

So if we could just relocate our house to an underwater castle, all would be well in the world...