Initiation (Day 1 of CI Therapy)

Well first off, Siri failed us.  Again.  She navigated us to an alley of dumpsters.  No lie.  Luckily it was across the street from Children's on 3rd where we go for therapy so we were able to use our common sense and drive across the street (with a little creative driving and some U-turns).

So our therapist is Miss Jane and she is AMAZING!  She has been doing this since before I was born so she knows her stuff and she's also worked in multiple other areas of healthcare including the NICU, a burn unit, and pediatric psychiatric in-patient unit. 

Miss Ainsley joined us today at therapy and joined us for parts and hung out with grandma other times (aka when she was having a meltdown).  I think ultimately we'll have grandma and Ainsley drop us off at therapy while they are here with us and they can find something fun to do for awhile and then maybe join us for the last half hour or so.

Ben was a ROCKSTAR getting his casts made.  He got two and he chose red and blue.  He didn't cry AT ALL!

He has to wear this ALL. THE. TIME.  Twenty-four hours a day.  It's removable so we can take it off to check his skin and to take a bath.  But that's it.  He also has a contraption that ties around his waist to keep the arm down so he's not swinging that cast all over and really limits the mobility.  I realize this may sound like torture but lots of kids have survived it ;)

Ben did great the entire time at therapy and didn't cry or have any meltdowns at all while we were there.  Once we got back to our hotel and he realized I really wasn't going to take this cast off he kind of freaked.  Any task is nearly impossible.  He can't feed himself.  He can't play with toys.  He can't pick up a cup and drink.  It's harder to catch himself if he falls.  He's lost his independence.  And he's understandably frustrated.

Here's a video of him eating goldfish.  I told him he can't say "I can't" but he can say "it's hard" or "I need help" so he quickly learned how to get the goldfish.

We got outside after a nap and got some fresh air which seemed to help.

We have to go get our nightly homework done!  Y'all have a good night!

We Made It!

Day 2 of travel went much smoother than day 1 and we have arrived at our destination and our settled in!

While we were awake by 6am we took our time eating breakfast and let the kids run around a little and got on the road about 9am.  We were into Tennessee right away and decided to stop in Nashville and see Opryland.  We actually intended to see Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry but Siri navigated us to Opryland, home of the ginormous new Grand Ole Opry facility, resort, and of course, in true American fashion, gigantic mall.

We made it to our hotel - we're staying at an extended stay place so we have one bedroom, a pull out sofa, and a little kitchen.  I'll try to get pictures tomorrow!  They happened to give us a handicap accessible room, I think it was because it was what was clean and ready when we checked in, but it didn't have a bathtub and Ben isn't really keen on showers so we asked if there was any possibility we could change rooms.   We could but we'd have to wait at least an hour.  So we could stay in our current room and "maintain" it.  Yeah, sure buddy.  You try "maintaining" a hotel room with 3 year old twinadoes.  So we went to Wendy's and Wal-Mart.  We stocked up on groceries and all the other random things you never knew you needed until you went to Wal-Mart. 

When we got back to the hotel our new room was ready.  But it was in a different building.  And on the third floor.  So we had to carry all the groceries upstairs (note: there's an elevator but it's slow and I'm impatient) and then I had to go across the parking lot to the building we started in, get all our belongings, which were thankfully on a cart, and take them downstairs, through the office, outside, across the parking lot, inside the new building, up to the third floor (in the elevator) and unpack in our new room.  Phew.  That was my work out for the day.  We had to turn on the air conditioning because it was hot.  No joke. 

Everyone got baths tonight and we are ready and excited to start therapy tomorrow and see what this is all about! 

Other random thoughts:

Why is the speed limit in Tennessee 24 MPH?

How is it January and these flowers are still so green?!  And why do I still live in Iowa?!

Get Rid of Your Junk!

Well, garage sale season is upon us.  My neighborhood has a garage sale and I am joining in this year.  I've been planning on doing this for several months but since we learned Ben got accepted to the constraint-inducted therapy (CIT) program at Children's of Alabama, I decided we are going to use the money we make to help pay for the three week trip. 

I've had a couple people ask if or how they can help...and here's where getting rid of your junk comes in!  If you have anything you are planning to donate to Goodwill or The Salvation Army, consider donating it to...

Ben's Garage Sale Extravaganza!

Don't have any junk to get rid of?  No problem!  Come get some at the garage sale!  Here are the dates:

Thursday, June 5th: 8am - 8pm*

Friday, June 6th: 8am - 8pm*

Saturday, June 7th: 8am - 2pm

*The neighborhood garage sale hours are 5pm - 8pm Thursday and Friday but we'll be there ALL day.  Well Jeremy will be at least. ;)

Leave a comment, email, or text me if you have junk to get rid of!

reannayenger@gmail.com

 This little guy thanks you!