A newly renovated home with a Front door Ramp!!!

This is probably going to be my First post for 2013! Been busy..very very busy. Had been busy with Saideep's story first which started in mid- December and went on till 1st week of January 2013. All this, while we had already started the renovation process of our home since 1st week of December 2012. So we shifted to the first floor with the rest of the family. There were more wall cabinets added (to make more free ground space for Vin), a low basin for Vineet to wash himself on his own, a low kitchen cook-top ( for Vin to cook if he Ever will!!LOL!)'' i will never ever learn to cook'' --- this has been typed by Vin who was watching me write this blog :) And the BEST part - the front door ramp!! That was the Totally Coolest idea that Vin's dad got while the entrance to the front door was being shifted from one side to right in the middle. Only a small drawback arose - its a wee-bit steep and maybe risky for Vin to be on his own on it. The side railings are yet to be constructed but I'm putting up the foto nevertheless...

Thats the front door ramp (side view)

Ramp (front view) without the side rails yet
 

So now the entire problem of Vin being lifted up right from his bedroom to the car has been solved! :)) God is SO SO Good!! Thankyou Jesus for loving Vineet so much!! Now Vin can go anywhere he pleases around the house. He can also reach his school books cabinet, story books cabinet, toy cabinet, secret cabinet ;) , and now he can also go to the staircase basement and call out for his cousins on the first floor! Nowadays I see him go right up to the other door and he sits and watches people go by. Now he can go play cricket with his cousins or simply wheel around the by-lanes, even when me and his dad are at work. And for Vin ,the Bestest part is- Now NO ONE can hide from me! not even in the kitchen like earlier, while playing 'Hide -n-seek'!! :))

VINEET'S FIRST TRIP TO THE HILLS AND MOUNTAINS 2012

Its been more than a year since I blogged about Vin. Its not that there has been nothing to post about, lets say it has been my idling away of time on Facebook! Hah! too bad, I know. Then yesterday Vin's dad got an email from another father who had a son with SB. Of course he was very happy to go thru Vin's blog, but then I realised I had not been updating(say helping others) about Vin since a long long time. So here I am :)

          So recently Vineet travelled to the hills and mountains during the last week of May.He went to Darjeeling, Kurseong, Gangtok, and North Sikkim right upto ''Zero Point" , at the foot of the Himalayas, where the road ends!!! He had a great time with all family members and friends,especially because his cousins were there with him too!

          EXCEPT for the day when he could not go up to the snow part of the mountain at Zero Point, because it was very far off from the road, and the way to it was thru a stream with lots of big stones(as is the case with all streams of course). So there he sat at the road's side on a rock with his dad for company while I went to the snow for my daughter with tears in my eyes. And when my daughter asked me why I was crying, I told her- All throughout this time, we had been planning when we'll see snow, we'll play and fight with snow balls, and make snowman with Vin.And here we are,and Vin can't play with us''. And tears came in my daughter's eyes too...she's a darling and loves her brother too much...

             We came back to Vin from the snow and said it was very tiring(atmospheric oxygen was very low at Zero point). And I cud see it in Vin's eyes that he was sad, but he wouldn't show it. Then it struck me and I said - ''What a waste of time!!we chose the wrong place to see snow! we cud have seen more of it in Shimla or Kashmir, where you get snow beside the road!! Sheesh!!! We'll go there next time, okay Vin? what say?'' Vin, who was silent all this while burst- ''That is what I was thinking, we have to go to those kind of places''. And I added, -''There's another best option you know, study well, go to Canada, and you'll find snow at ur doorsteps every morning, so much snow that you''ll get bugged of it!!!'' And there was laughter all around again.... :)

            So basically I have to end this topic saying that hills are very ''wheelchair-unfriendly'' , and they can't help it - Thats the way they have to move about - via steps, gulleys, alleys- all rugged. It was a first time for me too, and I'll say - Good Experience.

    AND I DOUBT IF VIN WILL BE ABLE TO GO THERE AGAIN.....

THE LINK TO THE TRIP FOTOS

Vineet's Goa-Mumbai Tour 2010-11

So Finally, today I have taken out time to update Vin's blog and share with you my views as well as the fotos of this wonderful trip (otherwise supposed to be perfect except that we ...cudn't,yet again, meet Hrithik inspite of having been to his doorsteps..literally..)
So let me start with Goa.Amazing place...Tourist Hotspot....n the moment we put our feet on the 'Madgaon' station (main station to halt at for Goa), we were greeted by a cobbled platform...broken at some places, and horror of all horrors!!NO WHEELCHAIR RAMP! So..so.. how do we get out of the station??!! "Not to worry m'am, says the coolie,'There's a road for the luggage trolleys, we go that way'.OK. If not for wheelchairs, in the name of luggage trolleys. Wait a minute, ARE WE GOING THROUGH THE RAILWAY TRACKS???!!! Yes m'am, not to worry.SO we wait on the railway tracks for our long train to pass through before making our way on that broken path(where a luggage trolley really overturned at the bend!) and I was disguted thinking that "WOW. AND THIS IS THE TOURIST HOTSPOT EARNING CRORES FROM THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE A RAMP!!' Oh my Asansol station, You Are The Best!
The second let-down was on Day 1 itself. We walked down to the nearest beach beside our guest-house in Miramar-The Miramar Beach late in the evening. Right at the entrance was a small flight of stairs.OK, we can deal with that.BUT THE WHEELCHAIR won't budge an inch in the sand!!! What do we do now?? 'OK, let me go and see how far the sea-shore is from the beach', says Vin's papa, leaving us n Vin at the entrance.He comes back after a few minutes shaking his head- 'Its too too far to take Vin in my arms..' Silence...if Vin can't go to the sea-shore, neither will I...But of course, we forgot that Vin might get the disappoinment in our words.So we decide to take Vin as far as we could,n we cud sit there n enjoy the beach.And we cud also keep an eye on the wheelchair at the entrance . So we found a nice spot under the tall light and Vin his sister played with the sand.We got ourselves some snacks and drinks. It was a lovely evening and we were really enjoying our family time,when Vin's pa coaxed me to go upto the water with Vinisha. I went.more out of curiosity how far it was than to enjoy it.However when I finally reached the far end(IT WAS THE WIDEST BEACH IN GOA, we realised later), I couldn't stop my tears from coming and I silently vowed that if this was going to happen in all the beaches in Goa,I was NOT going to the water. When I returned to Vin n his pa, My dear Husband realised everything, and he said he would carry Vin upto the water and I suggested maybe he cud stop when he got tired. So off went Vin in his father's arms and Vinisha scampered behind and I watched them go...a little less heavier heart...
The next few days in Goa were happy and fun-filled except wherever Vineet had to be carried around(which is a little exhausting for his papa,I have to admit). So we couldn't climb up to the upper boundary of the lighthouse jail or to the or temples with lots of stairs and no ramps.... And of course.. there were The Beaches, but less wider than Miramar Beach.
AND THE BEST BEACH WAS BAGAH BEACH "COZ IT HAD WATER NEAREST TO THE BEACH. Oh yes! I have to mention our pleasant surprise in Goa on the last day.We planned to board our train this time not from Madgaon station, but Karmali Station, which was nearer to where we were staying.And surprise of all surprises- KARMALI STATION IN GOA had a RAMP!! :))))

mumbai

Well, frankly speaking, I was a bit disappointed with what Mumbai looked liked.I thought and I still do, that our Kolkata is much neater and good-looking, contrary to what people say and think. While the dinner parties at the ITC and Taj were a stuff of what dreams are made of, I was SO SO disappointed the day we went sightseeing to Juhu and Bandra and saw some of the filmstars homes, but our driver could not locate Hrithik's place. Whatever....

The link to the fotos and the stories behind them - http://www.flickr.com/photos/57634602@N00/sets/72157625778042871/