"Sometimes My Dad Forgets Me" (2013)

After Kellisa's cancer scare at the end of 2012, I wanted 2013 to be a big year for Kellisa. I had the idea of hiking a trail in all 50 states in one year and decided to make an attempt at that goal. 

We started with a 25K race across the desert in Big Bend National Park in January. Kellisa was the first wheelchair finisher in the history of the race. 

Laurel joined us on several hikes, including across an ice road in Voyageurs National Park and a 4.2 mile race across frozen Lake Superior to an island and back in Wisconsin. 

I also took Laurel on a few trips without Kellisa to attempt to keep things fair.

Kellisa's 18th Birthday Tour on Southwest Airlines

I'm sure most people don't travel from Tampa to Sacramento by commercial airlines and purposely schedule 8 stops along the way, but Kellisa is not most people. Kellisa loves to travel by any and all means as often as possible, but flying is probably her favorite. We were in the middle of our cross country move last year when Kellisa turned 17 and didn't really do anything special. Kellisa did have a huge Sweet 16 Adventure  and I wanted to top that weekend for her. Kellisa loves severe turbulence, but I couldn't guarantee a flight or flights with enough turbulence to make her happy, so I thought about how much she loves takeoffs and landings...especially if they're rough. Next thing I knew, I was researching on Southwest.com to see how many segments we could schedule for one day with as few change of planes and tight connections as possible since it's very difficult to transfer and run through airports with Kellisa. I reached out to Southwest for help on routing after spending many hours online and after a few weeks of back and forth emails, I selected the above itinerary because it allowed us to stay on the same plane the entire day. Southwest really came through for us.

Kellisa's stat line for the day: 

Naps- 0   Seizures- 3   Flight Segments- 8   Hours on Plane- 20 1/2   Total Awake Hours- Exactly 24

Much, Much more will be released about this day in the coming days and weeks!

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

5 Years? (2012)

After three surgeries in 2011, Kellisa was able to go another year without a surgery. 

We started the year off on the 1st of January with a day trip to the Okefenokee Swamp followed by a

few local hikes, and Kellisa's first driving lesson in a golf cart.

Top Left- Chasing Laurel (Okefenokee Swamp)   Top Right- Julington-Durbin, Jacksonville, FL   Bottom- Golf cart driving lessons, Peace River, FL

Our Expanding Universe (2011)

The year started off on a high note as Laurel’s adoption was finalized in January. 

"Where Can I Find A Hammer?" (Autumn 2010)

Lisa received an unexpected phone call in October. “We know you’re only interested in school age children, but would you be interested in a 16-month-old girl?” 

They needed an answer immediately. I was out of town on business when Lisa called. Without hesitation or much discussion, we agreed that we were interested. I was still out of town the next night when Lisa called and asked where she could find a hammer. Lisa needed the hammer to build our crib, just in case were we chosen as the family for this little girl. Instead of saying, “You don’t need a hammer to build the crib,” I told Lisa where to find a hammer. I also figured we had zero chance of getting the girl.

  

The next evening, less than 48 hours since we received the first phone call and more than two years since we started the process, we had a beautiful little girl in our home. I advised Lisa not to get attached because a finalized adoption was not guaranteed. I listened to my own advice for maybe 20 seconds. My heart immediately melted as soon as I looked into Laurel’s eyes. She was my daughter! 

After being an only child for more than 11 years, I'm not sure how much Kellisa understood and she definitely had no idea how much her life was going to change. Kellisa wanted a sibling. In fact, when we were at wishing wells, Lisa would give Kellisa a coin and she would throw it in the water while shouting, "Baby". She wasn't good at keeping her secret wish contained, but sure enough...it came true!

Evanescent (Spring/Summer 2010)

We continued submitting on children into the new year without and success. We were lucky if we received an email with the subject, "Your Submittal Has Been Received". 

Our first trip of the year was during Kellisa's spring break a week after I completed my 2nd Bataan Memorial Death March. The first weekend was also Easter, so we spent a few days in Texas visiting family before Lisa went home and Kellisa and  headed for a week in the Southwest. While in Texas, we went for a nice hike at Brazos Bend State Park where we enjoyed its abundant birds and alligators.

Thriving Spirit (2009)

The Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth.

One of our all time favorite places to explore and we tried to start each year off with a visit. January 1, 2009 was no different and it would set the pace for what would become Kellisa's most adventurous year by far. 

Kellisa had out grown even the largest baby jog strollers and we broke two frames on a jog stroller made for special needs children. We needed a new solution and after many hours of research, we purchased a WIKE. The chair looks awesome and offers a ton of weather protection, however, it is not built for rugged trails. We still have it and it has its uses, it's just not an all around mobility device for our needs.

We had to go to southern Florida for a funeral in the middle of January which allowed us the opportunity to visit the Everglades over a beautiful weekend when the mosquitoes were mostly under control. Kellisa loves observing many alligators and enjoyed the many miles of trail we explored. 

                    

Pushing Higher (2008)

Kellisa went another calendar year without a surgery. 

Hannah Montana came to Jacksonville in January. The concert sold out in minutes before we were able to buy tickets. We even tried to buy accessible tickets without success. I couldn’t pull the trigger to buy three tickets together that were selling for thousands online. It was breaking my heart that I didn’t have tickets for Kellisa. Two nights before the concert, I bought three single seats spread throughout the arena for face value on eBay. I didn’t know what we would do once inside, but Kellisa was going to see Hannah and that’s all that mattered. We stopped at the information booth and found a helpful lady who escorted us to the accessible seating areas. We did not see a single disabled child or adult among the dozens of families in the reserved areas. Two families in one of the disabled areas offered to move closer together to allow us a space for Kellisa. The moms would go on to tell us that they bought the disabled seats instead of fighting for regular seats. They were bragging to us and acted like it wasn’t a big deal that they found a loophole in purchasing the hottest tickets of 2008 even though no one in their parties was disabled.

A Year Without A Surgery (2007)

FINALLY! 

2007 was the first calendar year that passed without Kellisa having to endure a surgery.

Kellisa really started to thrive with her new found medical stability. She started taking dance lessons and it was obvious from the start that Kellisa has the heart of a dancer. Kellisa danced in her first recital and she garnered the loudest cheers from the audience during the encore.

We expanded our outdoor adventures beyond trails as Kellisa started kayaking. Her favorite part was helping to paddle and splashing her hands in the water.

Our big summer trip for the year was to the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. We hiked to the rim of Bandera Volcano, deep inside an Ice Cave, the Four Corners Marker, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly. This was the first trip where we really started pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with a new jog stroller manufactured for larger disabled kids.

Finding Adventure (2006)

2006 started with Kellisa’s 4^th surgery in four months. Both hips were dislocated again, requiring another surgery of cutting bones, inserting screws, and hardware. It was followed with the same six brutal weeks of recovery.

After 18 months without a trip or trail, I was eager to get Kellisa back outside. I wanted to push our limits and see what we could do on trails. I even bought the largest baby jog stroller I could find so we wouldn’t have to use her wheelchair anymore. 

We took a family vacation to Arizona for spring break. Our itinerary included the red rocks of Sedona, a few national monuments, and the Grand Canyon. We completed several scenic trails in and around Sedona. The landscape was breathtaking and the rocky ground provided a nice surface for pushing Kellisa. The trails were far from ADA approved, but also far from challenging. Kellisa enjoyed being pushed up and over the rocks on the path.

We gained valuable experience as we hiked one trail in Montezuma Castle, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Wupatki National Monuments.  Each trail had it's own challenges, from rocks, to snow, to elevation changes. I was hooked and I could tell Kellisa was as well from her frequent requests for "more".