July 28

Bon Jour! I am sorry it has been so long since my last post but things have been quite busy since Mike, Nat and Jared arrived. When we weren't sight seeing, we were watching Ryan and kids working with their dogs and walking routes around two neighboring towns, St Hyacinthe or Boloeil.This has been a great opportunity for Mike to get an idea of how Ryan and his dog work together and get answers to any questions he may have. I think Ryan loved showing off his skills for his father, too. :)
We leave tomorrow and, while I am so ready to return home, I get teary eyed every time I think about leaving. This experience has been remarkable in so many ways. Words can't even express how grateful I am for this amazing dog that Ryan has been given. Watching Ryan work with him fills me with a sense of hope of what the future may hold for them, a sense of peace because I know he will always be able to do what makes him happy and an overwhelming sense of pride for the young man he has become. With this dog, I feel, and I know that Ryan feels, that there are no limits to what he can do.That is, well, priceless!
Leaving the friends we have made will be hard. I called Ryan earlier tonight to ask him if he wanted to go out to dinner with us and he said "sure!". After a brief pause he said "Mom, I really want to get back to Mira early so I can be with my friends for the last time." He has made some amazing and, I believe, long lasting friendships with the kids here.
I will have a difficult time saying goodbye to the people who work here and the other parents who have gone through this experience with me. I can not say enough about the people who work for Mira. They are some of the most compassionate people I have ever met and I feel so blessed to have met them. They feel like family at this point. I am going to miss Giselle and Jean's cooking, Gille's lively sense of humor, Margaret's company and watching Big Brother with my dear, new friend Spencer from the wheelchair program.
Thank you, Mira USA and Bob Baille for this wonderful gift you have given Ryan, and me. It has been life-changing for both of us!
Tomorrow, we will take the train from Montreal to Philadelphia where we do some sight seeing for a day. Ryan and I will catch a flight back to Aiken on Sunday and Mike, Nat and Jared will drive back. I will post again as soon as I can.
Au voir!
Here are some pictures for the past few days:

When in Canada, must visit hockey store. Jared was beside himself!

Natalie holding itty bitty pads for a very tiny hockey player. They start them young here!

Beautiful Chambly.

Getting ready to go on a route.

Ryan and Eric.

Ryan and his wonderful orientation and mobility specialist, Helene. She was GREAT!

Ryan, chef extroardinaire, Giselle and trainer, Gilles.

View from Boloeil.

The whole gang and Gilles.

Spencer and his dog and father.

July 25

Bon Jour everyone!! I have happy news; Mike, Natalie and Jared are here!! They left from Mike`s brother`s home in Pennsylvania for the Amtrak yesterday morning at 3:15 am and I picked them In Montreal at 9:30 pm. It was a long and exhausting day, but I think they actually enjoyed riding the train. Mike sat next to a nun, sister Helen and they evidently had some very interesting converstations during their time together. Mike of course, told her the reason for their trip and about Ryan`s medical history that led to his blindness. She wanted to know all about Natalie and Jared, too and spent some time chatting with them as well. Sister Helen gave Mike, Natalie and Jared all prayer cards and gave them one to give to Ryan also. Mike told me last night that Sister Helen told him that she would pray for Ryan and our family every day. What a wonderful blessing Sister Helen was to Mike during that trip. I don`t believe that their sitting beside one another was coincidence and I am so grateful my family was on that very long train ride last night and had the chance to meet her.
Needless to say, I was a bit emotional when Mike and kids got off the train.... After many hugs, Sister Helen came over to me and introduce herself. She told me that she enjoyed talking with Mike and that she was so happy for Ryan and that she would be praying for us. Oh my, how the tears flowed then!!! There have been many events over the last month that I know I will never forget; this was one of them. Oh, by the way, Sister Helen said one other thing that Mike is quite proud of. She told me that Mike was HER guardian angel during the trip! Mike feels really good about this and he now says he "must be in really good with the Big Guy" :)
On an enitirely different note, I spent quite a bit of time in Montreal yesterday. I had gone into Montreal early to do some sight seeing while I waited for the train to arrive. As it turns out, the train was delayed for nearly 2 hours so I had ALOT of time to sight see and my review of Montreal is this... If you have never been to Montreal, put it on your bucket list! It is a beautiful city and I cannot wait to take Mike and the kids there before we leave. I would post pictures tonight, but I am composing tonight`s blog from the Hotel. Ryan`s friend and computer genius, Michael, fixed Ryan`s computer so the screen reading software is working again so he has confiscated his computer from me!
One more thing, Ryan met his dog`s foster family today. He said they were very nice and one thing they commented about his dog is that his dog loved to play in the snow! Hmmmm, might be a problem....
More tomorrow. 6 more days!!! :)

July 23

Bienvenue! After a morning of work in St Hyacinthe, I was able to spend the afternoon with Ryan off campus!! Yay!! After lunch, Ryan and I spent about an hour or so sitting in my room talking about his week, reflecting on this experience and making plans for when Mike, Natalie and Jared visit. I asked Ryan what it was like to walk through the mall yesterday with his dog. "Awesome" was his reply. I was a bit surprised by his reply as Mike and malls are like water and oil, but I soon realized the reason for his excitement; my 14 year old son has never walked independently through a mall before until yesterday. We sighted people take for granted going through the mall, into the stores we want to, exploring where we want to go and letting our mood and curiosity guide us. Ryan and his friends have never done that, until now.
So, where did Ryan and I go on his day off? Why, to the mall, of course! Ryan wanted to get a Montreal Canadians cap, so off we went with his dog in the back seat. We found what we came for, plus a shirt (mama`s feeling proud...) and we wandered around; me following Ryan and dog for the first time ever! :)
We decided to go out to eat at a pizza house and had a very nice dinner together; Ryan, dog and I. This, obviously, was the first time I had ever eaten out with a guide dog at my feet and it is one I am certain I will never forget. What a day....

Happy to be at dinner with me. At least it looks that way!

Hanging out after dinner.

Michael, the computer expert!

A.J.`s beautiful hockey dog!! ;)

July 22

Bienvenue! The past two days have been very interesting! Yesterday morning, Eric asked the parents to come up to the kids house to see an execise they were doing with the dogs. Karen, one of the trainers, explained that while these dogs are very smart and very well trained, they are still dogs and there are times when they will be tempted to do things they should not! Karen explained that the kids need to ensure that the desire for the dog to obey their commands, is stronger than the desire for the temptation. This is done through correction when they are not listening, praise when they resisit and the desire to please the master out of respect and love that their dog feels for them. Some of the temptations might be food, other dogs, cats, squirrels, a ball, etc.
After explaining this to the kids, Gilles brought his two small chihuahuas into the room and set them free, running and barking around the room! The kids instantly worked at keeping their dogs at their sides and they did a fantastic job. It was quite amusing to see these two tiny dogs playfully running around these very large, serious working dogs!

Then, without warning, and keep in mind that these kids couldn't see it coming, Giles and Karen came through the room dropping bits of cheese on the floor in front of the dogs and at times putting it directly under the nose of the dogs! For the most part, the dogs did as they were trained and withdrew from the temptation as  Lu Lu and Peggy, the chihuahuas, devoured the cheese from the floor. The kids then showered their dogs with praise and treats from their pockets. It was amazing to see and the relief on the faces of the kids was evident! Karen explained how important it is that their dogs be able to resist temptation when they are working; a distracted guide dog can be a very dangerous thing for these kids. This is also why people, while well meaning, should not pet the dogs while they are in harness and working. Dogs love to be petted and to receive attention. However, this, too, is a distraction for the dog while he is working.
Today the kids took their dogs to the mall and, again, the parents were invited to come along. The kids were seated at some tables as you enter the mall and one at a time they were called to walk with their dogs through the mall.With a trainer following a short distance behind, they walked through the food court, into various stores, through crowds of people, and back to the tables, all the while obeying commands, avoiding obstacles, traversing escalators and resisting temptations. All of the kids and dogs did beautifully!
As expected, the kids and their dogs got alot of attention. This community is very familiar with Mira and, I'm sure, quite used to seeing these dogs. In spite of this fact, there were a few people who asked to pet the dogs and the kids kindly explained why they couldn't and the people appeared to be understanding. This, too, is a great experience for the children to have here so they will be prepared to handle this situation when they return home.
Here are some pictures from the past two days:

Gilles and his chihuahuas. Lu Lu and Peggy.

July 20

Bon Jour! Ryan had a very busy day today. The kids were back in St. Hyacinthe again today. This morning they worked specifically at a four way stop interesection and making sure the dogs stayed within the lines of the crosswalk. Pretty important! They returned back to campus a little early so they could have their pictures made for their guide dog identification. It is official; Ryan is a card carrying owner of his own guide dog! AND he was wearing a blue clemson hat and blue shirt for his picture! Mama's happy!
This afternoon, they worked on a new route and Ryan tells me it was a tough one. He was told to do a route which was quite long and consisted of several different crossings and which would bring him to a particular restaurant that he was to enter at the end of his route. Ryan told me that he completed the route without complication and when he entered the restaurant at the end he was greeted with a huge hug from Elan. He said he was very proud of himself and his dog.
After dinner, the head trainer, Karen and Mira's veterinarian spoke with the kids about taking care of their dogs.They discussed shots, bathing, cleaning ears, clipping nails, brushing, feeding, etc.  When they were done, Karen gave each child their dog's papers, including their birthdates and shot records. Ryan and I were wondering about his dog's birthdate. Looks like the Uhles have added May 19th to our family's list of  birthday celebrations! Ryan's dog is 2 years and 2 months old. :)
Bob and his God son, Jordan, took myself and the other parents into Montreal for lunch. What a beautiful city!! We didn't get to spend much time sight seeing so I am going to go back now that I (somewhat) know how to get into Old Monteal and spend a day there. I want to be able to give Mike and the kids a tour when they arrive next week. YAY!! Oh, how I miss my family!!! Four more days!!!
Here are a few pictures of Montreal. More tomorrow; Au voir!!

Bob and Devon. This dog attracts more attention than J-Lo! Everyone wanted to pet him (sorry, not allowed) and several people took pictures of him. Look at that face! Bob looks good too.... :)

 

July 19

Bienvenue!! :) Sorry I missed yesterday! The kids had a somewhat normal day, working in St. Hyacinthe. They did receive a visit from Bob Baillie, founder of Mira USA, so I know they were happy to share some of their experiences with him. Bob also brought his daughter, Tracy. Tracy is a professional photographer and they had a photo shoot with the kids. Naturally, Ryan was wearing his orange Clemson baseball cap with a red Penn shirt at the time, but that's OK! Leave it to a mother to notice that!
This morning, the parents were permitted to go into St Hyacinthe and follow our children as they walked a route. Eric explained to us that it was very important that the kids not know we were there for fear that they would be distrtacted or nervous by our presence. We followed from a distance and were very quiet.One of the perks of having a blind kid is that they are pretty easy to spy on, as long as you stay down-wind; they do have a rather keen sense of smell!
The kids are divided into two groups; one half of the group waited at a corner coffee shop, while the other half walked a route independently through the town, followed by one of the trainers and sneaky parent. Ryan's route lasted about 45 minutes and my stomach was in my throat for most of that time! Ryan and dog did beautifully and made it back to the coffee shop fully in-tact and with a huge smile on his face. These accomplishments are HUGE for their confidence in themselves as well as their dog and facilitate the bonding process with their dogs. And as for what it does to their parents to see it, words cannot explain....
The kids finshed their routes just before noon, so they piled back into the vans and headed back to campus for lunch.
Tomorrow the kids will go back into St. Hyacinthe and they will not be stalked by their parents. :) Instead, Bob is taking us into Montreal to do some sight seeing! I will post some pictures.Here are some pictures from today:

Unloading from the van.

Waiting their turn in the coffee house. Look at Ryan's dog! He watches me all the time!

Eric and trainers Giles, Karen and Elan getting ready to go.

Stephanie completing her route. Look at the smile!

Sammie waiting to cross.

Michael crossing as Karen watches.

Ryan getting ready to start his route.

Giles, warning Ryan's dog about sniffing!

Ryan and Elan sharing a laugh about something. He loves her!

And he's off!

"Hmmmm, I think I smell my mom....."

Treats for a job well done.

Karen and Meredith after her route.

All done and waiting on the others.

Meredith and her dog waiting in one of the vans.

July 17

Hello everyone! Well, today almost felt like we were back in South Carolina! It was pretty warm here, however, still not nearly as humid so I am not complaining! I was able to visit with Ryan again today and since they had the entire day off, it was a very lazy day. I met Ryan after breakfast and we walked the garden for a while then returned to the house to hang out with his friends. They were content to hang around and talk for a short while but soon decided that things were getting a bit boring. I found some english speaking TV channels for them, but for some reason they were not interested in Matlock or The Lawrence Welk show (imagine!) so I pulled out the Backgammon and Scrabble. :) This managed to entertain them for a little while. Some of the kids washed their clothes so they were, at least somewhat productive today! Ryan and I spent the afternoon reading for awhile until his dog decided he wanted to play so Ryan pulled out his rope toy. His dog loves  playing tug of war with the rope to and Ryan seems to enjoy it just as much. When I left for dinner, Ryan and his dog were having a good time. I plan on returning to their house after I complete my posting.
This coming week should be interesting. I met with Eric for lunch on Saturday and he explained that the third week is very different. This is the time that the dogs begin to challenge the kids; sort of testing the boundaries, much like children do. They need to figure out "is this person just my buddy or my master?" Eric has explained to the children that the dogs must respect you before they can love you. So this week, they will have to earn the respect. It should be interesting.According to Eric, all things fall together during week four and a respectful, loving bond is formed between dog and master. He says it has happened exactly this way for the past 30 years. AMAZING!! :)
A few more pictures for you. Enjoy! Au Voir!!

Ryan brushing his dog. Look at the hair! These dogs do shed alot!

Whose tail will get stepped on next?

 Ryan playing Backgammon against me. (I won....) :)

One of the trainer, Giles, and some of the kids with Ryan. Giles is just the kindest man. The kids love him!