This weekend we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to take Marcus on his first non-medical outing since the incident in August. One of Marcus’ doctors here at Almost Home Kids reached out to ask whether we would be interested in taking him to a college basketball game. DePaul University and Seton Hall played for a fundraiser for Project ADAM, a national program focused on awareness and access to automated defibrillators. If you’re interested in reading more about it, the link is here:

https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/specialties-conditions/heart-center/family-resource-guide/project-adam/

Sunday afternoon we got prepared and loaded up for a Team Marcus outing. The game was at Wintrust Arena, just a few miles down the road from AHK. Before the game, we were able to take our time and look around the stadium and get some photos and things. We brought along some sunglasses and earplugs for Marcus to lower the stimulation of lights and sounds as it was the first environment like that he’d been in for a while; we wanted to make sure we eased him into it. During the game Marcus was very alert. Some of us may have spent more time watching Marcus than the actual game, but it proved to be very telling as we noticed a lot of engagement from him. Lots of eye movement, intentional head movement, mouth movement… it was clear to us that something about the environment was providing a lot of stimulation for him.

While it was bittersweet to be at a basketball game with Marcus and not get to watch HIM play, it was an awesome experience that we are so grateful to have had. The outing helped us all gain some confidence in being able to get Marcus to possibly more outings that are not just “business related.” We’re already brainstorming about outings to celebrate his upcoming 18th.