Day 28 of #107Days adopted by kara2008 is about little drops of brilliance; ‘the brilliant little things people have done to help [our dudes]’. Well there have been a lot of little drops along the way but two who spring to mind are Big Sue and Tina, two teaching assistants at LB’s school. These two (among exceptional staff there) have a love, commitment and determination to make sure the dudes have a great time and experience stuff they may not otherwise. The stories they have to tell about their exploits and adventures are both hilarious and heartwarming. An early morning trip to Blenheim Palace to visit before it was open to the public became an exercise in logistics as there was no wheelchair access and quite a few stone steps to negotiate. This was no problem for our top team but they did say, once in, they hadn’t thought about one dude who loved to lick furniture. They’d brought him to the equivalent of a sweetshop.

LB loved em both. Tina took him travel training and Big Sue pretty much everywhere else. When he developed an interest in mermaids, Big Sue drove him down to the river at Marston where he sent his message in a bottle. He received a reply from the mermaids, some shells to put under his pillow and, over time postcards from various sunshine spots around the world.

When LB was in the unit, Big Sue, Tina and other school staff did their utmost to enable LB to do the activities he’d always enjoyed. He clearly didn’t want to attend school any longer but they were prepared to pick him up and drive him directly to Trax and the farm. Big Sue was at Trax with LB the day before he died. He loved it as always. Working on his Nissan engine.

After LB died they asked if they could be pallbearers at his funeral. Sticking with him to the end. And dressing to perfection.

Two drops of brilliance. #107Days