“God Has a Way of Making Miracles Come True!”

This was truly the case last week for my son, Thomas. He went skiing with the Make Promises Happen Camp in Guthrie,Oklaboma. He has attended events there for years, but this last trip was by far the most successful.  It has been a long road over the years living with a person with Autism. When the camp approached me about sending Thomas sking I thought “Oh! My! I’m glad it’s you and not me.”

We took a leap of faith and sent him off on an eighteen-hour bus ride that turned into a twenty-two- hour ride due to weather complications. I did not hear anything until Saturday night when his counselor called me. My heart jumped, but she wanted to let me know what a marvelous time Thomas was having. No problems on the bus, he had smiled every minute since he had been there. He was truly, for the first time in his life, having a good time. He laughed and interacted with strangers. Everyone at the lodge outside the group knew Thomas. Grown men played and wrestled with him in the pool/hot tub area. A group of Florida college students met him on the slopes and insisted on having their picture taken with him and even skied with him. He reached out, laughed,and interacted with everyone there. He spent more time on the slopes than any of the other kids who went.  He would tell Melonie , his counselor, “Go-Go ready- Go.” She said he could hardly wait to go back up on the ski lift to go back down the mountain.

They went to Winter Park, the premier place for people with disabilities to ski. People with one limb, no limbs, even the blind ski there. It gave Thomas a freedom he had never felt before.

When I arrived Monday morning to pick Thomas up they had to coax him off the bus. Then the accolades began from all. When he finally emerged from the bus the smile on his face told it all. It was as if he was trying to tell me “Mom, wow, what an awesome trip.” I was smiling and crying all at the same time and saying, ”Thank you, Jesus” for the moment. I willbe letting go of Thomas next year when he turns eighteen and the trip reinforced the peace in my heart from God saying it’s going to be okay! All the people at the camp, Robert , Lonetta, Judy, and especially her daughter Melonie, should be given gold stars. They have been a special part of Thomas’ and my life for many years.

Thomas has gone back to Winterpark several times over the years. His first two trips he used what they called a sitsky. In other words he sat down on a seat with one sky to guide him down the slope. He has since actually skied with skies no less. They have someone tethered to him in the back, but they are only there for safety. The person on the skies has to maintain thier balance and stay upright as they go down the slope.

Since COVID 19 he has been unable to attend his regular camps. He really misses it and doesn’ t understand why he can’t go. But perhaps next year it will be safe him to go back to one of his favorite places on earth.