I found our two-day visit at FHC to be very uplifting. I feel much less stress during our visit at FHC compared with visits we have had at The Institutes, partially because our visit is not an entire week where I need to keep Kevin rested and happy. Having been on a program for the last four years, we feel very blessed that we have been able to faithfully return every six months for Kevin’s evaluations and updated treatment programs. But what I find just as important is the affirmation that we receive while we are there knowing that we are with the best people to help our son continue to make progress. Our visits really motivate us to keep the program going. It can even help bring us back into focus about what are goals are with Kevin. When preparing for our revisit at FHC, I was feeling like maybe it would not be worth returning just yet because we had not met our program goals and I did not feel there were many noticeable changes in Kevin‘s progression. But of course all those small changes are exactly the changes we need to keep Kevin progressing. The staff was able to see and remind us of changes that had taken place that we had not remembered due to being with Kevin on a daily basis. For instance, six months ago he was “toe walking”.
Over the last six months Kevin seems happier. He enjoys laughing along with others and tickling Mom to make her laugh. We have noticed that Kevin seems to be more aware of the world around him. He is making more sounds and he seems to be more intent on communicating. At times we hear a word, usually only once, although we are certain many times it is just a matter of our inability to be able to decipher the words/sounds that are coming out of his mouth. He also wants to do more on his own if he is able to do it, like feeding himself and walking up steps by himself and even problem solving. For instance when the hand rail is on the left side of a stairway and he needs his right hand on the rail to go up the steps he will walk up backwards to be able to use the assistance of his right hand on the rail. Overall he is much more pleasant and cooperative.
Probably the best thing that happened to us in the last six months was taking a full day off of program on Sundays to spend together as a family and not feeling guilty to take a couple days off here and there for visits with family and friends. We even divulged in a monthly date night for Jon and I with an occasional overnight for Kevin at the Grandparents. I have also learned to take some time for myself and picked up a beloved old hobby of reading for pleasure. In the past I felt like if I had any time to read I should be reading some kind of self help book for Kevin, now I have a wide variety of books that I have been reading very regularly, and this makes me happy.
The last six months were a bit of a roller coaster with some weeks noticeably better than others. Another big change in our lives was missing our daily visits from our many supportive friends (volunteers). We did however receive weekly visits from Grandma to help with the program and Kevin’s beloved morning visits from our good neighbor Karen who assisted us with the one reflex that requires three people. We feel uplifted and motivated after our FHC visit and we are looking forward to implementing the new changes to our program.
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