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06/11 revised to include week II report at end of this original post (so u don't have to hunt too far It's been 15 months since Sean's tragic accident and he continues a long & arduous road to recovery with many more months/years to go. In April of this year we started to bring him home (from his clinic) for short day visits every 2nd weekend to see how well he tolerated travel & extended hours in his wheelchair. He did amazingly well and it was apparent to all that this was also of great therapeutic value. Once we got the green light from his therapy team for day visits, I immediately started planning & logistics for near future cottage trips (despite the 'caution' from Mom that perhaps I was getting a little bit ahead of things). At the top of my list was cottage & boat accessibility. I visited a small accessibility 'clinic' @ Erinoak Kids in Mississauga in mid April & sourced some ideas and contacts. Lots of phone calls & RFQ's later, I presented the plan to Sean's therapy team (NRIO) as well as his case worker @ WCB AB. Both NRIO & WCB were supportive and we managed to get about 50% of the costs funded through WCB. I was very happy with the funding as we were fully prepared to bear the whole expense regardless. And finally, the big day (May 31st) came :) I rented this really cool MV1 accessible vehicle which was delivered to my home the night before. I was @ Sean's 'house' @ 0900 on Saturday. We were on the road @ 1000 hrs with Sean riding shotgun Meanwhile up at the cottage, my brother Vince & SIL Troy were finishing up with the ramp installation and ensuring the lift system was ready to go @ the dock....... We arrived @ 1245 and lathered Sean in deet & head cover... First order of business was getting Sean settled & comfortable. We positioned him in the screened in porch so he could supervise our boat transfer trials. So it was down to the dock to demonstrate & validate safety to Sean's OT. Brother Vince was the test dummy LOL. Boat stability was critical..... We got approval from the OT (there was never a doubt in my mind LOL) and it was time to get Sean in the boat and go fishing :) In the weeks prior, I received permission from a lake neighbour to access their dock as I was able to drive right up to it. Slope & elevation of our family friend's property was much too dangerous to get Sean to the dock. We transferred Sean as planned & we were off fishing by 1500 hrs... Haha, before someone states the obvious, we did forget to unbuckle Sean's belt earlier on (I forgot my checklist @ the cottage) but did correct it shortly after the pix were taken And a big thank you to Wayne for use of the PFD We were on fish in the first 15 minutes (as usual ) Needless to say, we had a blast. Stayed on the water for almost 3 hours and allowed Sean's 2 staff some sunny R&R time. We followed up the day with an awesome dinner & fish fry, a movie and then off to bed @ 2400 hrs. Sean was awake and alert the whole day!!! Sunday followed with some 'stronger' winds, and as promised to the OT (I had to keep at least one )we stayed off the water Homeward bound on Monday. A weekend to remember and.............WE GET TO DO THIS ALL AGAIN THIS WEEKEND !!!!!!!! Big thanks to: Vince & Troy for working their butts off (& resisting the fishing urge) to make sure the ramp & boat lift were already to go when we got there Sean's entire team & the staff who shared weekend @ http://www.nrio.com/mississauga.html Sean's case worker and her team @ WCB Alberta David Elias (discovered to be a former business associate from 8 yrs ago) @ http://www.mobilityspecialists.ca/. Ramp provider. Jennifer Mayer @ http://www.motionspecialties.com/index.php/mississauga Lift & hoist system John Hillier @ http://wheelchairinmotion.com/ Van rental And of course, all the members here who continue to offer support and share both Sean's and my love of fishing If anyone is interested in more detailed information, please feel free to contact me via PM. I'll share what I can. Cheers, Simon & Sean 06/11 Finished up Round II on Monday. Pretty much a carbon copy weather wise but the skeeters were fierce on Saturday so we stayed protected in the screened in porch. Vince & I did manage to get out and scored a nice 4ish lb pike & nice eater walleye for a fish fry. Andrea (RT) chillin with Sean Susie (RT) joins in on the fun Inspecting dinner Sue's (Big Cliffs Boss) kiss delivered as requested As well, we made sure the RT's had some downtime & R&R I can't express enough how much the comments, support & PM's mean to both Sean & I. Thank you all so much :) Next fishing trip is planned for LO next month & returning to the cottage in September.