Our now annual trip to Brainwave did not disappoint! Thomas showed the team what he could do and we leave feeling so positive and excited, actually excited by our new programme. But even more than all of that, I feel listened to and reassured that so many of the decisions we have made since Thomas has had SDR have been the right ones for him. It’s been hard believing this and hard trusting that we were supporting him and his body enough. Thank you Brainwave for truly, truly being there for families like us who struggle to navigate ourselves on this journey.

Plans for next weekend? Need to do your Christmas shopping still? Come along as there will be so many beautiful crafts on sale.

Last day of Footsteps today and the boy did good! Lots of hard work which hopefully will pay off in the coming weeks. It felt good and rather fitting to end the session with a loving cuddle from one of his favourite people. Now for a restful weekend.

Skills learnt in 1:1 physiotherapy transferring to independence at home! #13monthspostSDR
With one week left of his intensive block of physio at Footsteps I wonder if he will feel confident enough to try using one cane at school…I wonder…

Skills learnt in 1:1 physiotherapy transferring to independence at home! #13monthspostSDR
With one week left of his intensive block of physio at Footsteps I wonder if he will feel confident enough to try using one cane at school…I wonder…

Day 8 and tiredness was kicking in but he dug deep and worked through it. I am always left in complete awe at how imaginative the therapists are. To keep Thomas engaged and motivated towards the end of a very long 2 hour session he created a mini ‘mission impossible’ scene for Thomas to navigate. The idea being to help with spatial and body awareness as well as encourage flexion of the back, hips , knees etc by needing to go under the ropes and over the step. Genius. Fun. Hard.

I’m so grateful that this glorious weather has allowed us to make some lovely memories alongside of having to do daily physio at Footsteps throughout half term. Thomas has been working hard and Dylan has been utterly brilliant. One more day before heading to the farm to see Grandma and Grandad. I love Autumn.

As Christmas approaches, I’m sure many of you will be thinking about making meaningful choices with your shopping. Well, I’m here to help! We have linked Help Thomas 2 Dance to Easy Fundraising. It’s a very secure way of getting the retailers you buy from to donate to Thomas’s cause. It doesn’t cost you anything – all you have to do is click on “activate donation” on any retailer web sites where you see a pop-up from Easy Fundraising.

We don’t have the time to actively fundraise at the moment, so things like this can really help us to continue providing Thomas with the physio that is making such a difference to him.

Just go to our Easy Fundraising page here to select us as your chosen cause.

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/thomasbalmer/

This time last year Thomas found parties tricky and quickly retreated to the corner wanting to either go home or be told another story. It was hard for everyone.

This weekend we were invited to two birthday parties! On Saturday the party was thankfully indoors because it didn’t stop raining all day but on Sunday the party was at an outdoor adventure playground.

What a difference a year can make. Joyous. Completely, utterly joyous!