My Interesting Diet

I recently learned that people with BVVL might benefit from special foods to eat most of the time without phytanic acid.  I am going to change my diet to see if it helps with my impairments.  There are health food stores that people can go to buy special foods without the ingredients that raise levels of phytanic acid in the body.  Phytanic acid can cause certain neurological and metabolic disorders to get worse.  I am excited about trying the new diet to see if it will help, but I will also miss eating some of my favorite foods all the time.  The changes that I have to make for my diet are not eating so much dairy foods like cheese, ice cream, and milk.  Also, I need to avoid red meat, fatty fish and chocolate.  These foods might cause health problems for people with certain metabolic disorders like BVVL.  It is important to note that the information about how phytanic acid affects those with BVVL is just a theory.  Time will tell if it will help, but I am looking forward to the possibility of improvements. 

What kinds of foods do you avoid?  Would you be willing to give up some of your favorite foods with only the possibility that it may help your disorder, but no guarantee if it will?

My Exciting Summer Vacation

My family and I always go to the beach for summer vacations every year.  I visit my grandmother who has a very nice house in Delaware.  My family likes hanging out and enjoying  special occasions together.  We drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Route 50 back and forth every time we go to Grandma’s beach.  My Aunt and Uncle and Grandfather always come too.  It is really fun and it is absolutely an important part of summertime for me and my family. 

My favorite thing to do at the beach is swimming in the ocean and going on the canoe ride with my Dad.  My family gets to sleep at the beach house and it is very nice of my grandmother to include a few bedrooms for more than a few family members to stay.  I like to play music too.  I play the piano at the beach house because I know how to write songs by using beats when I play an instrument.  If you want to see what my grandma’s beach house looks like, you can see it at my store.  It is the best part of my life and my family joins together on vacation all the time.  My grandmother’s house is big with 3 floors.  It has a garage below the house where two cars can be kept inside.  
 

My family likes to eat special food and go out to restaurants when we are on vacation.  My favorite food to eat there is pizza with pepperoni on top and it makes me hungry just thinking about it.  My favorite restaurant is Miltonian Pizzeria & Wing House near the beach.  My family gets special breakfasts and coffee every morning on vacation.  My favorite breakfast there is eggs with bacon and sausages.  My grandmother is an excellent cook!  She makes delicious food and that makes the whole family happy.

I love to watch fireworks on the 4^th of July when I am at the beach.  My grandmother has a roof top deck located on the right side of the house, which gives us a great view of the fireworks!  It is hard for me to get up the roof, but I do it by having an adult help me walk up and down the stairs inside, but she also has a chair lift attached to the railing outside the house that gets me up to the second floor from the ground.  It is very cool that she installed it for me because it is hard for me to climb too many steps. 

 I like to listen to music on the radio and watch television with great tv shows they offer on vacation.  It is so much fun to sit on the sand and make sandcastles and have picnics with sandwiches, chips, and other yummy food.  My grandfather uses a kayak with a giant paddle that allows it to move around on the water.  Last year it was too windy and too rough for me to go on the kayak, but I hope this year the water will be smoother so I can go kayaking.  I also like to swim because it is good exercise for lots of people. 

Are you wondering how I get on the beach?  A few adults have to carry me down the front steps and onto the beach because my wheelchair can not go on the sand.  So, I usually have to sit in a wagon that someone pulls with a handle.  I also sit on a trailer attached to a bike that my Dad pulls me with.  He takes me for a bike ride down the street and it always makes me happy with joy.  On the 4^th of July weekend my Dad pulls me on the bike in the neighborhood parade with lots of people and other vehicles like bikes, tractors, fire trucks and different cars and trucks.  The coolest thing about the parade is the fire trucks driving down the streets with their horns blowing very loudly.  It has been a very good vacation for me and my family every year.  It is fun and something I look forward to all year long. 

What is your favorite vacation spot?  Do you ever go to the beach?  

-Alex