Tommy Bit a Dolphin

Yup, it's true.  Shocking, but true.  Despite our excitement and hope, "swimming with dolphins" was not the therapeutic miracle we had expected.  Horses, yes.  Dolphins?  HELL no.  

With great joy and anticipation on our part (Mary, Becky, me, and Nicholas Loomis), and anxiety on Tommy's part, we waited our turn for the training and instructions for our aqua adventure.  Much time had been spend prior with Tommy looking at photos of dolphins, talking about swimming with them.  We all figured since he's an amazing swimmer and lover of all things aquatic, this was bound to be a profound success for a nine-year-old autistic boy.  I held him near me as we listened to our instructions and whispered a simplified translation in his ear as he jumped up and down, biting his wrists intermittently.  He finally smiled upon sighting "the pool" and understood that at least a good swim was head.  When our group was called, we descended into a large natural pool, connected to about 4 of the same size.  We stood on a ledge.

First, Tommy was dismayed to not be able to simply swim freely at his leisure.  We were to follow a format of first "petting" then "kissing" and finally "rubbing" the dolphin (who I have named Job-you know-the patient guy in the Bible?) before the grand finale of riding Job across the pool.  Happy sisters and nephew participated delightedly while I restrained Tommy from jumping in the pool and begged him to stop the wrist-biting.  By the time the "rubbing the dolphins belly" moment had arrived, he had worked himself into a frenzy of frustration and anxiety.  When Job arrived beside us, he leaned forward, and to our utter horror, bit Job on the left fin.  I felt myself beginning to fall apart along with him...had it not been for the mirth and eternal merriment of my awesome sisters and the patience and kindness of the trainer, we surely would have made a speedy exit at that moment.  Blessed Aunt Mary moved in for hugs and whispers of comfort and Dear Aunt Becky, as usual, laughed her ass off. Cool nephew Nicholas merely rolled his eyes as if this type of thing were an everyday occurrence.

Tommy calmed, and the show went on. It was our turn to swim out, catch hold of Job, climb onto him, and ride!  I whispered the question to Tommy, "Do you wanna ride superfast on the dolphin?".  A new smile appeared on his beautiful face.  "Yah."  "Are you sure?  You have to hold SUPER tight to mama just like this", (wrapping his arms around me from behind).  "Yes," he said quietly, his anxiety gone for the moment.  "Now?"  A smile, "Now."  We swam out, Job swam up beside us, we climbed on, and we rode.  Tommy has always loved applause, and he got it from every corner of that aqua theater (a small audience had gathered, many recognizing his challenges).  He beamed and laughed.  A success at the end.  That evening in our hotel room, I bragged to him as he fell asleep, "Did you REALLY ride a DOLPHIN today??"  A yawn, a smile, and then a quiet..."Yah."