In the three months since we got home from our four week intensive at Virginia Tech (you can read about this intensive here: week one, week two, week three, and week four), I’ve been ruminating on what I learned throughout this intensive. Here are the top three things that have really stood out to me: Continue reading
Tag: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Roanoke, Week 4: Peace Out, Cast!
Snuggling on our last night in Roanoke
We packed up our little home in Roanoke late Friday evening, piled into the car on Saturday, and made the trek back to Nashville. We’re home. It’s taken me two full days to decompress from the last leg of our trip – the should-be 6 hour but really 8 hour drive – and get my bearings now that we’re back in Tennessee. If it ever looks or sounds like it’s easy for us to make these trips, then I do a good job of masking it. It’s not. We’re exhausted and insanely excited to be back home in our own space. It’s always hard to get out of our normal routine: setting up our lives in a temporary home is always a struggle, as is the long car drive (and in many cases, plane ride) to and from these locations.
But, fatigue aside, this 4 week intensive therapy was 100% worth it. And the last week was particularly eye-opening. Continue reading
Roanoke, Week 3: Finding Balance
Hello from Roanoke!
Yep, we’re still here. Three weeks down, one more to go.
This past week had us feeling a bit more like locals. We now no longer need to use GPS to get us to the local ADA accessible playground, we have a favorite breakfast spot, Bea and I have explored the Roanoke River Greenway several times, and Ziggy is now a regular at a puppy play center. We’re finally getting into the swing of things just as we’re starting to pack our bags to leave. Continue reading
Roanoke, Week 2: I Did It!
During one of Solly’s therapy sessions this week, his therapists got really excited when he used his right hand to move a bead across a track, so they cheered, “Solly, you did it!”
And Solly replied, “I did it!”
Now, I haven’t heard him say this exact phrase yet, but I completely believe that he said it. I’ve long thought that Solly understands everything we say to him and part of his sensory issues (i.e., excessive biting, throwing his head back, flailing his arms) is simply him expressing frustration that he can’t find the words to respond to us. It’s like the words are in his head, but he struggles with which word to choose and how to get it out. Continue reading
Roanoke: One Week In
Hello from Roanoke!
One week ago, we packed up a U-Haul and drove 6.5 hours (well, 8 hours, really, thanks to Bea’s insistence that we stop every hour to get out of the car and run around) to scenic Roanoke, Virginia. No, we didn’t move here – at least, not permanently. We’re continuing our nomad lifestyle and have uprooted our family – dogs included – for 4 weeks so Solly can participate in a constraint intensive therapy at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI). Continue reading
Sol the Man 