Thursday, August 12, 2010

Faster! Faster!

Morgan has always been "a runner". A familiar term in the Down syndrome community and a common question . . . "Is your child a runner?". Morgan will not stay by me or walk beside me. She likes to run the opposite direction or wander out of my sight. And she's fast! She's been a runner since she started to walk. It's probably the most frequent question I've asked other parents of older children with Ds. "When did your child stop running?" Almost all of them said around 8 or 9 years old. So 8 years old has been the magic number for me. The year Morgan decides to make life a little easier. We've tried lots of different things to keep her near us. . . we put her in a stroller for years just to keep her buckled in and near us. She's since learned how to unbuckle the stroller and escape. We've tried the leash but end up feeling like we are just pulling her around on it. The best solution has been holding her hand. She fights it and spends most of the time trying to pull her hand free. "I do it myself!" which means "I'm almost 8 years old and want to walk without holding your hand everywhere." I test her from time to time to see if maybe today's the day she's going to stay by me. We went to Target yesterday and I decided to forgo the shopping cart and let her walk with me through the store. We only needed to pick up one item which should have been relatively quick. She started wandering through all of the aisles as soon as we got to the electronics department and waited for someone to help us. And then it becomes a game where she runs from aisle to aisle trying to get away from me. We held hands as we left the store. Yesterday was not the day.

We've also had to make adjustments in the home to keep her inside and safe. I always keep the garage doors down (she isn't tall enough yet to reach the garage door openers). We have a lock on the top of our front door that she can't reach. And we have gates in the backyard that she can't open. This makes life doable for us. She likes to wander around the house and play by herself. She will play for hours in the basement playroom. Listen to music and dance in her room upstairs. Play on the swing set and trampoline in the backyard. She doesn't need me by her side every minute and this way I know she is in the house somewhere. This system usually works unless there are friends over. Then the boys go outside to play basketball and leave the garage door open or run out the front door to play football and leave the front door unlocked. That's what happened yesterday afternoon.

I assumed Morgan and Mia were downstairs playing and had to go pick up Hadley from gymnastics. I started looking for them. Couldn't find them in the house. Not in the backyard. The front door was unlocked. The garage door was up. The gate in the backyard was open. I'm not one to worry. That's Gavin's job. But he wasn't here and wasn't answering his phone at work. Morgan usually only goes a few houses down and is found either knocking on their front door or trying to open it. I ran down the street both ways and couldn't see her on anyone's front porch. I got Jack and Ryan and their friends to help look for them in the neighborhood, after yelling at them about the garage door and front door being left open (something about never getting to have friends over again). I got in my car and started driving through the neighborhood. Asking neighbors if they had seen them. No one had. I didn't think they could go far. Neither of them had their shoes on in the house. I drove almost to the school and didn't see them walking down that sidewalk. I drove the other way to the school and didn't see them on those sidewalks or in the big church parking lot that has a short cut to the school. I was beginning to panic. My mind was racing about all of the possibilities. Hit by a car. Abducted. Wandered into a neighbor's yard and drowned in their pool.

Just then my friend called and said she had found them. They were at the school playground. She had them in her car and was bringing them home. Morgan was wearing Jack's friends tennis shoes. 8 sizes too big. Mia was barefoot. Both had red, flushed, sweaty faces and big smiles. I asked them where they had been. Morgan just kept saying, "Stop it mom!" She knew she had done something naughty. Mia kept saying, "Faster! Faster!" I tried to get her to say more but all I got was "Morgan do!" I guess I'll never know the full story but if I had to guess I'd say Morgan knew this was their chance at freedom and must have grabbed on to Mia's little hand and ran as fast as she could. And she encouraged Mia to keep up with her by repeating the words, "Faster! Faster!"

I wish I would've gotten a picture of those naughty faces. All hot and sweaty from their big escape. Running at least 1/4 of a mile. Morgan in shoes way too big for her feet. And through all of my fear and worry was a little pride. Proud of Morgan. Finding her school playground all by herself. And grateful that her school is in our neighborhood and not across a busy street.

Maybe 9 years old will be the magic year . . .

15 comments:

Brittany said...

Oh I am so sorry, that is so scary! And where is Gavin when you need him to be the worrier? I'm glad all is good though. Morgan is definitely good at keeping you on your toes!

Becca said...

Whew! Wow, I'm so glad everything turned out well. I am always so interested in the "runner" stories and always want to know when they grow out of it, too. I just want to be ready, in case. Samantha's not much of a runner. Well, sort of. But not always. I don't think. I'm actually not sure I know just yet. That's why I always pay so much attention to these stories, so I can be prepared to adequately child-proof my exits accordingly. I'm sorry this happened (and totally understand your pride!), but I thank you for the education.

Tracy said...

Your household sounds a lot like mine. I have all the doors alarmed and keep them locked and the garage door closed as much as possible. I worry when the big kids are out front playing and the doors are not secured, because Rachel is a runner too! She has gotten out of the house twice. I still put her in a stroller when we are in stores. Unfortunately at almost seven, she is starting to outgrow the stroller. I am soooo glad that everything turned out alright, and I completely understand your pride in Morgan!

GrandmaBethany said...

I felt your sick feeling just reading this. It reminded me of when we lost Hadley in San Diego. I still have nightmares when I relive that.
We too now have a lock on our front door. She ran away from me once and she is not only strong but very fast!
She is a sweetie, and keeps us 'on our toes!'

Scarehaircare said...

My heart dropped as I started reading this. Our kids are so much alike. The Love Magnet escaped to the neighborhood park a month ago. The only person who saw her leave was the next door neighbor who chased her down.

{{{hugs}}} Can't wait to see you next week!

COOLWHIP said...

I wrote this post a few months ago. Our destination was the dollar store, and it was the back gate the neighbor left open. In our house, I am the worrier.
Although, today I had to have some work on the tires done, and I walked all 6 kids down 56 west, no strollers, and she stayed with us. She lagged way behind, but shes getting there. We're not getting rid of the Fort Knox style security at home any time soon, but it's progress.

DKAZ said...

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who loses children. Sneaky Morgan AND Mia, you know they both knew they were doing something 'naughty'.

Emily said...

Wow... stories like this scare me! But I can't stop it... it's going to happen to us someday! Glad she was safe!

kellyclay said...

Heather, how scary, I am the worrier so I would have been so freaked out!

Nicole Love said...

Thank you for your wonderful words on my blog. I can relate with you. Savannah is a runner too. It's almost always an adventure ending in tears when we go to the store, and it's so much fun when we're in the parking lot and she decides she wants to run away and here I am with Xander in one hand, grocery bags in the other trying to desperately bribe her into coming with me to the car.We also just recently had to put a lock on the top of our front door so Savannah wont escape. She defiantly keeps me going. She is a very determined little girl. I do feel very blessed to have Savannah and Xander. I love them so much and even though it's hard sometimes. It's always worth it when they smile or learn something new, or when Savannah gives me a hug and says that she loves me. Thank you so much for your your support. It's just so hard not being around other mothers with children with BBS. My only support from them is through online support groups.My nephew has downs syndrome, but he lives in California and I've only met him a few times. He's almost two. Your daughter, Morgan is beautiful. You are a very inspiring person. I would love to hear Your story on how you found out that Morgan has DS. If you would like, Savannah and Xander's stories are on my blog under Bardet-Biedl Syndrome.

Tausha said...

OH my gosh, I am so sorry. I am dreading these experiences with Sam. He is standing on his own and up to 23 steps and I am not sure I am ready. I did get some good advice from a friend. In regards to the garage....she took the key pad and put it inside the garage so in order to get out you have to punch in a code which is impossible for her 8 year old to do right now. I guess her little girl used to get a chair and prop herself up high enough to hit the opener button. Just a thought if it gets to that point. She said you can get into their house but you can't get out. :-) Glad you were able to find her so quickly.

Sharon said...

That's really scary Heather but I can understand your slight feeling of pride too. Glad it all worked out okay. We also have a little runner and a house that is more secured than most.

Mary said...

How scary! So glad they were safe!

Carrie said...

Oh scary!!! So glad they were found safe and sound. What a nice sister that would take her younger sister to the park with her. At least she was making sure Mia was going to have fun too!

Jenni and Chad Stewart said...

Oooh, that is SO scary! It's probably good Gavin didn't know until you found them. He would have had a heart attack! I hope Morgan's success in escaping doesn't encourage her to try it again. :0