Day in the life of a "Therapy Mama": Guest Post from Julia Bennett

I'm so happy to return from a little "Medical Momma Toolkit" sabbatical (!!), with a guest post from the very wise, generous and servant-hearted, Julia Bennett.  Julia is mom to four precious children, and their family is working toward the adoption of another little boy.  She is an administrator for the rapidly growing and ever-helpful "China Special Needs Information" Facebook group, which works to educate and support parents with current or potential special needs by creating a forum for parents to ask all their medical, therapy and other special needs questions.  Big thanks to Julia for sharing, loving and serving so beautifully.   She is a "therapy mom" willing to share what she has learned, and I am so grateful. 

 

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Some moms are "soccer moms". I'm a "therapy mama". God has blessed me greatly with my four children (Soon to be five, after we complete the adoption of our new little guy!). Two of my precious ones have developmental delays. Scratch that. Make that three with developmental delays once we get our new guy home. 

Therapy Monday Snapshot:

• 6:00am. Up and at 'em to get my crew of 4 little loves (6, 5, 3, 3 years old) dressed, fed and out the door. It is therapy day. Diaper bag...check. Morning snack...check. Water bottles...check. School work...check. Let's roll! (Why does it seem like we are moving out of the house, when we'll just be away until noon?!)
  
• 7:30 am. Physical therapy appointment for Josiah, while Drew simultaneously receives occupational therapy at the same therapy location.
  
• 8:30am. Drew gets speech therapy, while Josiah reads books in the lobby, his sisters work on their home school assignments, and I am on the phone with the neurologist office who is calling to reschedule an appointment for the third time. Sigh. (Note to self. Text mom to see if she can watch the other kids during the appointment).
  
• 9:00am. Josiah's turn for speech therapy while the girls continue their school assignments and I work to keep Drew from having a complete sensory overload meltdown in the waiting room. (Can this count as my upper body work out for the day? Yes? OK, good.)
  
• 9:30am. Snack time in the car while we drive to the local public school where Drew has his 3x/week speech class. The car time isn't wasted though, we all rock-out to our memory work skip counting math songs on the way. (Multi-tasking points for mama. Oh yeah!)
• 10:20 We all pile out of the car and into the school lobby to receive a 5 minute parent-education lesson from Drew's school speech therapist before he goes into class. Alyssa takes her big-sister role seriously and always makes sure we try and follow up with the home assignments that the speech teacher gives us.
  
• 10:30 While Drew is in class, the other kids and I pile back into the car and head to a nearby park for recess or to the library to check out some books.
  
• 11:30 Pick Drew up from his therapy session at school and arrive home just in time for lunch at noon, but not before rocking-out to more memory work on the drive home. We sing our history sentences this time and the kids include the hand motions. I'm sure we are quite a sight as cars pass us by.
  
• 1:00 After lunch it is rest/nap time for all, because-HELLO-we just had 5 therapy appointments before noon on a MONDAY!

For us, this is our normal. We've worked it into our routine, and are so very thankful to be able to provide therapy and get help for our boys. People ask me, "How do you do it all?"

 

First of all, I don't. We aren't able to participate in some activities that we used to, but that is ok! This is a season of life, and we are happy to embrace it.

Second of all, routine. Routine has been absolutely key for us. We have a game plan that works pretty well for our family, and we do all we can to stick to it.

•  Monday is our intense therapy day, where we have both private therapy and public school therapy. (Bonus points: the girls "get" to do school work in a different location than at the table at home. Variety is the spice of life, right?! Or, sometimes they stay at home with their rock star Dad and do science experiments or projects with him.)
• Tuesday afternoon is reserved for all medical related appointments (specialists, pediatrician, well-visits, eye doctor, AFO fittings, dentist appointments, etc.). I try desperately to plan appointments well in advance and to only schedule appointments during this time if at all possible.
  
• Wednesday:  Drew has public school speech therapy.
  
• Thursday: I work on anything related to medical bills and insurance issues.
  
• Friday:  Drew is back for public school speech therapy.

Routine. It is a beautiful thing. Routine creates normal. Our medical appointments and therapy sessions are not life's interruptions or burdens for us. They are our life, and we choose to embrace it!

I try my very best to make it fun for the kids. We explore new parks, we arrive at the children's hospital early so we have time to stop and see the lego display, we take our school work to Starbucks and sip on a tasty beverage while Drew is in class, we get to know the receptionists, therapists and staff and they become like family to us.

If your calendar is full of therapy and doctor's appointments, let me encourage you. It is worth it. You can do it. Your child is worth it. (It can even be FUN!)

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Here are some things I've learned along the way:
• The receptionist/scheduler is your new best friend. Truly, you want her on your side. She has power to make things happen that can help you.

• There are key times of the year where many people change their schedules. Watch for these times to help get a therapy time that works best for your family.

• Make the most of waiting time. Meal planning, phone calls, home school, one on one time with other siblings.

• Include siblings. Let them help reinforce what was learned during therapy at home.

• Evaluation days can be tough. I would much rather sit and talk about how wonderful my child is, but in order to continue getting the services that my child needs, sometimes we must talk through where they are behind and plan their next set of goals. I've learned that evaluation days can be tough for me emotionally, so I try and keep that in mind and maybe even plan a little something to look forward to later on in the day.

• The therapist treats the symptoms and is not the doctor. Don't forget to seek medical doctors to get a diagnosis if necessary, but therapy can often go on without a diagnosis.

• There are many opportunities to reach out, serve and encourage other parents with special needs kids and build relationships with everyone that you encounter (therapists, receptionist, social worker, etc.). Don't miss these precious opportunities.

• Work at home. Therapy isn't just about the appointment time.

• Pinterest therapy boards. There are many wonderful ideas online that are easy to duplicate at home.

• Try and sit in on therapy sessions so you know what to work on at home.

• Have a relationship with the therapists, social workers and teachers.

• Know your insurance benefits like the back of your hand.

 

Being a "therapy mama" might be a crazy life, but it is a life full of love, celebrations, compassion, joy, tears, struggles and triumphs.  And I wouldn't trade it for the world.
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Check out the rest of the posts in the "Medical Momma Toolkit".