When Kevin was still three, I can recall Kevin's mother, Susan, expanding his boundaries, away from the normal elements or comforts of bed and wheelchair.
One day, I arrived for my shift and Kevin, from his bed, was trying to communicate something concerning a large swivel chair that was positioned near his bed. Previously the basket-shaped swivel chair had been across the living room in a different spot. When I couldn't figure out exactly what Kevin wanted, his mother approached Kevin's Bed. I thought he wanted to put the chair back to its original place; but that was not the case. His mom quickly understood what Kevin wanted. He wanted to be moved into the swivel chair. I was a little hesitant as I was relatively new and had never really transferred or moved Kevin.
Susan asked me to give Kevin manual breaths (with an ambu-bag) while she extended the tubing from the ventilator to reach all the way to the large chair. She also put a couple pillows in the chair to better prop Kevin up. Once everything was in place, Kevin's mom lifted him and gently placed him in the chair. Kevin glanced at me while his mom reconnected him to the ventilator and adjusted the pillows. His eyes showed great joy and happiness. His mom explained that Kevin had enjoyed spinning in the chair (as far as the tubing would allow) the evening before. And now, I was being introduced to his expanding world. This would be a repeated pattern of joy in Kevin's life: always finding new ways to change, adapt, and enjoy the world around him. He spun in that chair for 3 hours that day.
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