It ended up being a perfect, sunny day in the 70s. As the Rett families arrived, we provided a warm welcome. We were so excited to finally meet Brynn, who we have been following on social media for the past 10 years. We had never met Kristy or Steve Bouscher, but the shared experience of parenting a child with Rett syndrome provides an instant connection. We actually were supposed to travel with a third family, but unfortunately, their daughter got sick and couldn’t make it. That’s Rett syndrome—the best laid plans often go awry.

Adapting for Magnolia is one thing, but coordinating and adapting for other families is harder than I thought it would be. Conceptually, trying to adapt for someone that I don’t live with every day was taxing. Thankfully, the excursion went more smoothly than I expected.

We met the team at Jim Thorpe River Adventures, and they were friendly, kind, and very knowledgeable. They’ve adapted river excursions for other kids and adults with special needs, and their preparations put us all at ease.

The owner of the company, Jerry, actually took the time to speak with each family before the day of rafting to find out what each individual’s needs were. He really became invested in adapting the rafts for each of the girls. And even though the 3 girls have different abilities despite having the same syndrome, he created a safe-chair unit to provide them support within the rafts. This was above and beyond. He took kayak chairs and put them in the river boat, fortifying the base of the raft with inflatable cushions to make it a bit more comfortable for our kids. Having the chairs in the raft worked out very well for us, providing an extra layer of protection and comfort for the girls. Pool noodles became tools for posture alignment, trunk support, and leg support. You would think it wouldn’t be possible to adapt for the girls’ differing needs, but somehow Jim Thorpe River Adventures figured out how to do just that.