Project Lifesaver

Well, we finally did it.  We've been talking for months about getting Porter a GPS tracking bracelet through Project Lifesaver, but today we actually did it.  Those of you close to me probably remember Avonte Oquendo, the boy with autism from New York who tragically went missing from his school back in October. His body was later found  ( after more than a 3 month search ) along the East River.

It has been since then that we looked into Project Lifesaver. We knew Porter would not be a big fan of wearing this bracelet , so the original plan was to slowly get him used to the idea of wearing it by first wearing a plastic watch or bracelet and letting him keep it on longer and longer each day.  We went through quite a few different possibilities and of course he kept taking them off. So we basically decided that we should just go ahead and put it on.

If you're wondering what it looks like or how it works, I've taken the next paragraph directly from the website. ( if you want to learn more, click here . )

How it works

"Citizens enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a small personal transmitter around the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal. If an enrolled client goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local Project Lifesaver agency, and a trained emergency team responds to the wanderer’s area. Most who wander are found within a few miles from home, and search times have been reduced from hours and days to minutes. Recovery times for PLI clients average 30 minutes — 95% less time than standard operations."

I have been dreading putting in on Porter because this is a boy who has a lot of sensory issues and would gladly be naked 100% of the day because even his clothes drive him crazy! So we have been putting it off. Then on Canada Day we went to visit family at Marco Polo Land. It is like Disney Land for kids really, so much to do there! Anyway, we were at the park and Porter was having a blast running up and down the slide and then it happened. We turned our back for less than 5 seconds and he was gone. It was probably no longer than 30 seconds until we spotted him running like the wind, he had crossed one of the roads, passed a row of campers and was running down a hill through the trees. Thank you Lord.

So that was it. I called the next day.

So we had two special guests come see us today. Top shelf people. Porter wasn't in a great mood to begin with, but we gave him a popsicle and they put it on him while he was distracted. Nothing. He sat and ate his popsicle and maybe glanced at it once. Seriously???

But when the popsicle was gone he did get a little upset. We decided not to give him too much time to think about it. It was Ruby's nap time, so Mark took him for a drive. They went to the park, Wendy's for fries outside on the picnic table and then a walk on the boardwalk. Doesn't get much better than that! haha Later when Ruby woke up, we took a drive to Gateway Village and played at that park for awhile. He hasn't had a lot of time to really think about it, but he has taken our hand a few times today and put it on the bracelet. This means " take it off mom and dad!!!". I keep telling him that this is his special safety bracelet that stays on ( it literally has to be cut off to remove it).  Then at bedtime he got a little more upset and tugged at it for a couple minutes, but that's it. I'm not kidding myself that this is it, but so far, it's going a gazillion times better than I thought it would!

We may be frequenting many parks this week:)  Here are a few pics from today.

The boy loves a swing!

FRIES!!

Classic Porter! 

Close up of his new hardware!

I hope and pray that we will NEVER have to use it and it certainly isn't going to protect him from all of the potential dangers he could face, but it is a little more peace of mind.