Redefining intensive therapy and
special-need parents
Jan. 10, 2010
Well as most of you know by now, we’ve completed 4 of our 15 sessions of intensive therapy down in Cincinnati. We did have one snow day which will be made up in the end, otherwise we’d officially be 1/3 of the way done. We’ve definitely put some miles on Annette’s car as it’s 121 miles (one way) and this week we chose not to stay overnight, despite the weather, as Nathan just doesn’t eat or sleep as well away from his own bed. He’s had quite the workout this week and has overcome his lack of sleeping in the car so we may try staying down some night this week to see if he gets more or less sleep and make sure we get the most out of his time at Leap Beyond Therapy.
All the time on the road has given me time to think about what this time means to us, and how “us” involves a lot more than just Nathan, Annette and myself. We’ve had many people tell us that they’re praying for us, and want to know how things are going. We know they’ve followed through, as Nathan’s efforts have been great, and the number of hits to the intensive therapy page, have been pretty impressive. We’ve had a while to prepare (we’ve had the dates set aside since mid-November) but there are still many things we’d thought we’ve have under control, but just haven’t had enough hours in the day to handle on our own.
When we’ve had the label of a special-need family in the past, it’s mainly meant that we have to approach things with Nathan differently than most parents work with their child/children. But when approached with an opportunity to dedicate time solely to the cause, our special-needs have changed and our families have risen to meet our needs. I wanted to take this time for some thank-yous.
My family is a lot more local to us, so they can provide more of the finer details. They have provided us food so we don’t have to cook once we get home. It’s nice to have something that takes little preparation when we don’t want to eat out every single meal, but don’t have the time to make things ourselves. They’ve offered to help with laundry, dishes, cleaning up around the house and many of the other little things, that seem to pile up. My dad has also offered to ride with us, to make sure the driver has someone to talk to if the other one of us wants/has the opportunity to get some extra sleep. (Annette is still working as many hours as she can on top of attending all of the sessions thus far, so sleep is a rare gift for her.)
Special thanks also go out to my mother-in-law. She lives a little farther away, but still wants to do everything she can for Nathan to succeed. She puts in extra hours at work and I swear she could have retired by now, if she didn’t want to send us extra money for gas, meals, therapy costs, etc. She’s frequently put her needs aside to make sure her grandson reaches beyond what anyone thought he could do. She’s also learning how to use her computer better, to keep up (via the website) on his accomplishments on a daily basis.
My title also stated about redefining intensive therapy. I guess I can’t attest as much to the intensive part, but all this time travelling, I feel, has brought Annette and I closer together, and communicating with each other a little more. It’s definitely the most time we’ve been in the same place without at least one of us being on the computer. I have to confess that earlier tonight, when Annette sneezed, I actually sent a chat saying, “Bless you.” We both use computers to unwind and do our own little thing (like website updates.) Many times we’ve lacked the time together, which in a majority of special-need parents, often tears them apart.
We have created a game plan to use some local respite services to have more time to ourselves in the near future, but I don’t think anything will compare to that time we have together, these 1,200+ miles a week. It's like free couples therapy, but don't tell our insurance as they'll probably find some way to bill for it.
Tuesday is our next therapy session, and as of now, the weather forecast looks a lot more promising this week than last. (We may even see 40 degrees in Cinci on Thursday.) I get one last Monday to myself, but Annette’s heading to work for a full-day and then a CP meeting in the evening. (For anyone who wonders why Annette needs to sneak in sleep, there you have it.)
With the help of all of you, our complete extended family, we have the support and prayers coming through to continue to make this a blessed event in our lives. Thank you again to all, for being there when we need you the most.
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