On New Years Eve Bennett’s wheelchair was delivered to our house, with just a few hours to spare before the new year (cough cough deductible). I was working and Bryan was scheduled for the next morning, so Benny was spending the night with his Grammy and Pa. I’ll have to admit, coming home from work to see that little chair in the corner of the living room was a little odd. It was weird. It still feels weird but it made it a lot easier when I saw how excited Ben was. As soon as we got home from our annual New Years Day Dillard’s sale (yes, it’s a thing), Bennett checked out the light up wheels and hopped in. Within minutes this boy could maneuver the chair throughout the house, turn, put on the breaks.. you name it. He proceeded to use it all day, just because he was so excited. I reminded him that we got it to use when his legs get “tired”. The rest of the week he used it here and there at home but I think it’s just him trying it out and excited for having something made especially for him. He told me, “Mom I’m gonna sleep in this thing it’s so comfy!”.

Friday we had a check-up…errrr pre-op with his ENT. His tonsils haven’t changed a lot in size but the doctor is certain they are now playing a part in sleep apnea. After assessing him, he believes his adenoids are most likely blocking his nasal cavity which in turn prevents him from breathing through his nose. He’s most definitely a mouth breather. I asked him “If this was your kid, would you have it done?”. He laughed and said “yes, absolutely”. I’m hoping to schedule his surgery right before spring break, so he has some time to recover. Crossing our fingers for that availability 🤞🏼

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year.

The orthopedic doctor walked into the room and said “Hi I’m Dr. D-Something, Bennett does not have scoliosis.”

Say what? The doctor went back to Bennett’s spine MRI in 2015 and X-ray this year and it shows a 7-8% change in symmetry. Despite the asymmetry the doctor said it’s no where near being scoliosis!! Thank you God! We won’t even have to return unless his neurologist or physical medicine doctor notice a big difference.

Yesterday morning Bryan took Bennett to get donuts on their way to the gym (ha!!!!!!). Bennett picked out a chocolate milk for the first time in weeks. I told him I bet his dentist drinks it sometimes too 😃

No news is good news, right? Yes!

Bennett just finished up the first half of first grade with so many improvements. He has moved up 3 reading levels and he is rocking most of his math test! We were so busy preparing for our wedding we didn’t get a chance to practice with him as much for his last test, but he tried his best.

Bryan and I got married on November 30. Best day ever! Bennett pretty much stole the show once the reception started. Whether he secretly planned it out with the DJ or just mere coincidence… Bennett was standing at the top of the stairs when his favorite song came on, “Uptown Funk”. I swear Bennett had his dance choreographed, he danced like no one was watching. In reality he had the attention of probably a hundred people. He told me afterwards that he felt “so cool” dancing at the wedding. Dancing is one of Bennett’s favorite things. He is SUPER expressive and he’s been that way since I was pregnant with him. Certain songs or types of music would have Benny doing kicks and turns in the womb, ha!

Bryan and I celebrated our honeymoon in St Lucia (which was beautiful). My mom held down the Fuentes fort with Benny and Tucker while we were gone, which once again reminds me how lucky we are to have her and our families ❤️

Now we’re back into the swing of things, if that’s even possible two days before Christmas.

Physically Bennett is doing good/okay-ish. More and more he complains of his legs and back hurting or being tired, and has mentioned his arms now too. Falls have become more frequent, especially when he’s not wearing his braces. Before recently, Ben would fall and get right back up without skipping a beat. The past few weeks it has been different. It’s a fall accompanied by something else hurting. I had to stop and think. *OK. Yes he has muscular dystrophy… but is it a learned trait? Am I teaching him this by accident?*

I’m guilty of complaining of my back hurting and maybe it’s rubbing off on him. That being said I’ve really tried keeping those comments to myself, in hopes that that’ll help.

His physical therapist has noticed increased weakness and decreased stamina in the past few weeks as well. Bennett’s wheelchair will be delivered next week, I don’t anticipate him needing to use it right away besides long distance excursions. Next week we’re also checking in with the orthopedic doctor for his scoliosis. Cough cough … For the first time ever we (I) completely missed an appointment, straight up forgot. We also sent some spit (literally) to Boston for a laboratory at Boston Children’s that does research specifically for our gene mutation. Bennett, his Dad and I thought it was pretty weird but it’s way better than blood work!

Bennett is such a lucky, super-extra-loved little boy. Tomorrow night Santa is coming early to his Dad’s house! I’m working Christmas Eve so with the way our schedules worked out Bennett will celebrate with his Dad and soon-to-be Stepmom (💍😍🎉) then. Bennett received a special letter about his early visit from Santa and his elf (Milo), he was so shocked that they knew he had two houses!

Before I end this post, I wanted to share one of the most heartbreaking yet beautiful things that has unfolded. While decorating our Christmas tree, Bryan asked Bennett to grab something from the garage. Bennett had found tubs full of wedding decor and grabbed the frame with a picture of my Uncle Bub. As I posted before, Uncle Bub passed away in May after battling brain cancer. Bennett sat on the couch and held this picture for some time, as soon as he saw me crying he got up and set it on the end table. Bennett proceeded to decorate around Uncle Bub’s picture, showing him our ornaments and Christmas decorations. Bryan talked with Bennett (I was too busy sobbing in the other room) and we decided the mantle is a great place for Uncle Bub’s picture. He’s got a new picture in his room of Uncle Bub giving him a piggyback ride too. Over the past few months, Bennett has asked A LOT of questions about God, Heaven and literally everything in between. My mom gave Bennett a special children’s Bible. I figured we would try to read a bit every night before he goes to sleep. No. He has had this Bible maybe 10 days… and we’re already 300 pages into it and on to the New Testament! And what do ya know, baby Jesus was born TONIGHT during our time reading ❤️

With that being said, I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and superb New Year 😁

Much love

Ben: Knock Knock

Me: Who’s there?

Ben: Sense

Me: Sense who?

Ben: Um that doesn’t make sense.

Happy November 😀😀 In our house, it’s WEDDING month!
Life has been crazy, but a good crazy I suppose.

We had another rainy Halloween but luckily there was about an hour of time Ben got to go trick-or-treating. He had so much fun but was straight-up-exhausted once he got a few blocks from home. Bryan (once again, knight in shining armor) ended up carrying Ben home in the rain, but they were all smiles and laughs when they got home. Ben almost instantly asked “Is my wheelchair gonna be ready soon?” (We’re hoping by the end of the year).

With all the weather and cold funk, Ben started coughing this “croup” sounding cough last week. We visited the pediatrician just to make sure it was nothing to worry about… turns out he had an ear infection and strep throat. One week so far of antibiotics and he is as good as new! He also got his flu shot. Doctor said “he has no fever… I don’t see a problem with it.” So glad we went ahead and did it! Bennett is so tough he refused to hold my hand or sit in my lap. No tears or anything! This specific pediatricians office in Conroe has already seen numerous cases of influenza in babies and kids, I don’t see the point in risking it. Bennett is fully vaccinated, in addition to the pneumonia and flu vaccines. To each their own 🙂

Bennett had an appointment with his developmental pediatrician last week as well. This doctor keeps track of Bennett’s “physical, emotional, behavioral and social development”. He diagnosed Bennett with ADHD last year, so we see him for medication checks and whatnot. Bennett has lost about 5 pounds since the school year started, which is worrisome (to me). Dr Topham said he is not concerned, because Bennett has been constantly growing in height there’s just no way to keep his weight up too. We try to fatten up his breakfasts (protein!) before school, so far so good! This doctor also sends forms/surveys to his teacher to check his on his behavior etc. There are only a few concerns, one being “speech articulation”. Well… if you know Ben you know that he doesn’t have front teeth. When he was a toddler he fell and chipped one, and ended up having to get both pulled. So I imagine it’s not the easiest thing learning to talk without those teeth. Dr Topham asked me to take him to the dentist, because he hasn’t lost any teeth on his own and there are no signs of adult teeth coming in.

Have no fear, Bennett’s adult teeth are near! He had a dental checkup today and boy, does that kid have a mouthful of teeth just waiting to come in. No cavities, which is CRAZY. I’d like to think Bennett’s diet isn’t too bad, aside from his obsession with chocolate milk he isn’t obsessed with candy or sweets. It’s always been a battle to get him to brush his teeth. Well, now Bennett has given up chocolate milk because the dentist told him it’ll give him cavities … clearly over the last 5 years it hasn’t but I’m proud of Benny for listening 😃 I gave him his cup this evening and he turned it down and asked for white milk instead. It sounds so silly but it’s a big deal in this household. The dentist gave ME a sticker that says “SuperMom”, which I’m pretty sure they meant to put “CrazyMom”.

It’s been awhile! All is well in the Ley-Fuentes house.
Bennett has been working really hard in school and I literally couldn’t be more proud. He got a 92 on his math test, I screamed like a little kid and we (me) jumped around to celebrate. He’s making progress on his reading too! We found out at the beginning of the year that he is pretty “behind” in reading. From my stand point, I can tell he is improving. There’s a group that gets pulled out of class (including him) for a more specialized reading lesson (not sure the exact name for it). I can tell it is helping him.
We’ve have read every night since he was just a few months old. He loves being read to but having to read himself is frustrating for him. It’s a work in good progress!

While I’m on the school topic… I was working a few weeks ago and got some heart shattering news. According to an aide at Bennett’s school, other kids have been making fun of him. “His braces. The way he walks. “
I’m sorry…. what?!? Cue the ugly cry again. Literally, little kids… making fun of my kid? First, I was angry at them. Now, I’m angry at their parents. Don’t we all teach our kids to be accepting of others, despite their differences? Apparently not. For the past few years, Bennett and I have talked about this a lot. Kids are different. Some have glasses, some have freckles, some wear braces, some talk different..
I couldn’t even believe that’d bullying would start now, SIX YEARS OLD. Anyways, I called my mom in hysterics… my mom is the person I call for pretty much everything. She hung up the phone to call the principal while I texted Bennett’s teacher. Bennett’s teacher called me right away and was in shock, she was confident that Bennett is pretty well loved in his class. His school principal did some investigating and assured us that any bullying would not he tolerated. Luckily for Bennett… he does not care. He never even noticed, or if he did he didn’t give them the time of day. I tried not to make a huge deal of it all in front of Bennett, just asked him a few questions. We’re suspecting it could be some older children but haven’t had any issues since.

On a brighter note, Bennett started Taewkondo! He seems to love it so far. He’s pretty proud of his white belt 🙂
Bryan’s friend invited us to Monster Jam this past weekend. Bennett loves monster trucks and has gone the past 3 years now. We got to attend the Pit Party, to see the trucks up close! Bennett met some new friends in the suite we were in, so he was in heaven!!! Funniest Bennett quote of the night:
Bennett: (talking to an older kid next to him) “I didn’t catch your name, what is it? How old are you? My names Ben, I’m 6 and a half. “
Once we were headed back to our car, Bennett’s little long legs were pretty much done. Well his legs and back he said. Bryan carried him for probably a mile, I tried to take over but didn’t make it too far. (I’ve since decided it’s back to the gym for this chick). Instances like these are when his wheelchair will be extremely useful. I imagine his wheelchair will he delivered in December. Despite the long trek we made back to the car, it was a great night!!

Bennett went to school all week! He had physical therapy Thursday, his therapist could tell he was recently sick. The activities he can usually do well, he had a hard time completing. Key word, completing. We added a few new things to do at home, which is always fun to do while Tucker tries to bite his ears and hop on his back.

Bennett has an appointment tomorrow with his pulmonologist, they will test his lung function and make sure his pneumonia is long gone!

Yesterday was the MDA Muscle Walk! I’ve been spamming Facebook asking for donations and people to join our team. Ben and a group of family/friends walked through the Houston Zoo for the Muscle Walk. I got this in an email and it’s interesting to see so I thought I’d share.

Unfortunately, I had to work this weekend so I wasn’t able to participate in the walk. Our schedule at work is 4 days off, 2 days on. I switched shifts with a friend, so I was off work ALL week and it was awesome.

Big thanks to everyone that walked with Bennett and to those who donated!

Bennett is feeling a little better. His doctor this morning diagnosed him with pneumonia, he’s being treated with two different antibiotics. She heard crackles and wheezing in both lungs. Good news is She said as long as he doesn’t have a fever and feels okay, he can go back to school Monday. YAY!

We were able to get a prescription for a nebulizer for breathing treatments as well. As much as they help, we have to use them cautiously as it can cause extra strain on his heart. Bennett and Bryan are hunkered down at home this weekend, while I head to work.

Much love ❤️

Holy guacamole, what a week it has been. I’d been looking forward to this week, as we had 3 days of no appointments, no works, just school, hanging out, and working on our house. As we all know (some better than others), we make plans and God laughs.

Bryan and I brought Bennett his favorite lunch (Panda Express) to school Wednesday. Benny was so sweaty when we saw him, but he had just finished up recess. He didn’t eat but a few bites but that’s not unlike him.

After school Bryan brought him over to our old neighbors house to play for a bit while I cooked dinner. When they got back Bennett plopped on the couch and Bryan told me “he’s not acting right”. Ben is “good”, he’s always “good” and he hates telling me that somethings bothering him. Well he had a fever of 102.5. I immediately go into worry-mode, but I know that if his fever got this high this fast he could have a febrile seizure. I gave him Tylenol and checked his oxygen saturation/pulse. With Bennett, and other kids with MD, respiratory infections can turn south, quick. His lungs don’t have the ability to cough as forcefully as others, so he’s at a greater risk of pneumonia. His pulmonologist has told us this countless times. Sure enough, his pulse was nearly 160, and he was breathing about 60 times a minute…. three times the amount a 6 year old should. I think I may have turned off the stove, Bryan put Tucker in his kennel and we brought Ben to the closest emergency room. I was so scared, I just wanted someone to help him, FAST. I feel like such an asshole, I always roll my eyes when we get those calls at work for a kid with a fever…. now here I am, running into the ER in hysterics dragging Ben behind me. They took him in right away, his fever was now 103… they gave him Motrin as soon as they could and tested him for the flu, strep and did a chest X-ray. The whole time Bennett has molded his body to this giant bed, not talking, the only movement is his belly going up and down each time he breathes. I tried to give a quick overview of Bennett and his conditions to the doctor. The X-ray showed some sort of viral infection in his right upper lobe. They gave him a breathing treatment, one nurse heard wheezing, one heard nothing abnormal, and the doctor heard crackles…..

The doctor came in and explained to me that he had made a call to a ER pediatrician, they both agreed that Bennett needed to be observed longer in a more pediatric specialized place. Duh, I’ll take him to Texas Children’s. Well, they suggested Memorial Hermann TMC… because “the one in the Woodlands doesn’t have a pediatric ICU”.

WHAT??? ICU? At that moment I lost it, “it” being any calmness I had left in my body. Don’t worry, Bennett did not need an ICU, it just made sense to have those capabilities just In case they were needed. I told the doctor that all of Bennett’s doctors were at Texas Children’s and requested he’d be taken there. I signed some paperwork in the lobby, a lady who worked at the front desk handed me some tissues. I grabbed one and continued sobbing. Hence the “take the whole box, ma’am”.

Did I mention that he had to be transported by ambulance ? That was an experience of itself. That’s all I’ll say about that 🤨

Once we arrived at TCH, Bennett had finally started talking again and looked SO much better. My mom met us there, because she is a saint and would do anything for her kids and grandkids, heck.. even strangers. My sister was also headed our way, and Bryan was right behind my mom, he went home to get Bennett’s “black blanket” and a few other things.

His fever wasn’t a “fever” anymore, like 99.7 and the lovely EMT reported clear breath sounds to the ER nurse … not sure how you come to that conclusion without using a stethoscope but hey, maybe I’m behind on prehospital medicine. (Heavy sarcasm )

Benny got settled in his room and the doctor came by to check him out. The doctor said that Bennett had all the clinical signs of pneumonia. He listened to Ben, and heard crackles over his right upper lobe. Despite that, Bennett looked back to normal. He ate Chick-fil-A (thanks Grammy!) and kept us entertained. The doctor continued to observe him until about midnight. He said there’s no way you can recover from pneumonia this fast, so he believes the rapid breathing was compensating for his fever, and the breathing caused atelectasis of that portion of his lung. ‘Atelectasis- complete or partial collapse of a lung or lobe of a lung — develops when the tiny air sacs (alveoli) within the lung become deflated.’

The last time the doctor listened to his lungs they were all clear. I’m pretty sure the doctor was dumbfounded, he said “that was some magical Motrin”. In my head I’m thinking, “No, this boys got some pretty awesome guardian angels.”

Bennett is such a trooper, for lack of better words. He said he felt like the “4” smiley face (on a scale of 1-10). I wish I could be as brave as him but I’ll get there. While I was carrying him to the bathroom at the hospital, he wrapped his arms around my neck, smushed his face against mine and told me “you’re the best mom ever”. He took back his compliment shortly after but I’ll take what I can get.

We got back home in the middle of the night … not sure what time.

Bennett had no fever all day until 4pm and it was back at 102. And the rapid breathing came back. I went for the ibuprofen first this time. I had already made an appointment in the morning with his pediatrician, his pulmonologist can’t see him until October. His pediatrician called me herself and said to wait 30 more minutes to see if it improved after Motrin, and it did.

Benny is sleeping soundly… coughing but sleeping like a rock. Hopefully we’ll have some answers in the morning. His doctor is concerned it may have been pneumonia too early to detect on X-ray yesterday. We will see. We’ve had a lot of friends and family reaching out and praying for Bennett, we know God is hearing them. Thank you 🙏

Some where In the midst of the chaos, I told Bennett I’d buy him anything he wanted, it was my way of apologizing to him for him having to go through this. Well, this child dreams big. Bennett got a Nintendo Switch. Which … actually isn’t a bad idea considering he needs to rest and sit still for the next few days.

I see a lot of video games and legos on the horizon for him this weekend. Thankfully he didn’t ask for a forklift.

The video above is Bennett’s first time using the Jurassic World virtual reality goggles. (Toys R Us was practically giving them away a few months back).

September 5 came sooner than expected. Bennett’s neurologist canceled his appointment (without my knowledge) and rescheduled it to the end of September. I noticed it when I logged on to his “MyChart”. While I’m sure there was a reason for it, this momma was not having it. I called and was able to get him an appointment…. the next day. And to our great surprise, Friday’s (the day of his new appointment) are the days Texas Children’s has their MDA clinic. Instead of having to go to the three separate appointments we have coming up, Bennett was able to be seen by his neurologist, physical medicine doctor, AND genetic counselor in the same day. While it was so convenient and helpful, it made for a very long day. Bennett had a blast. Yes, you read that right. The Child Life Specialist at the clinic Friday won Bennett over. He spent a majority of time with her, making crafts and meeting other kids like him. When we left he even told her “Hey, I’m going to come see you next time. “ While Bennett fell in love, Bennett’s Dad Tyler and I were able to talk with his doctors. No “new” news really.

I have been concerned on Bennett’s muscle weakness on his right side (back, arm, hand), ever since his physical therapist brought it to my attention. This is Bennett’s dominant hand, and basically because he favors this side it is suffering muscle weakness due to “overuse”. I asked about MRIs again, I don’t know how else atrophy is confirmed. Bennett’s neurologist explained that any other MRIs are unnecessary, we already know he has a muscle disease…. which means the muscles will continue to atrophy, that’s just the nature of the beast. His doctor was confident that it’s not progressing fast at the time, unlike other common forms of MD (Duchennes and Becker). When she told us this, I think I finally exhaled for the first time this month. To me, watching my son fall more and complain of leg pain makes me think otherwise but I am going to hold on to what she said. I pray so hard that that it is true.

This week Bennett will have a X-ray of his back, sort of a baseline for scoliosis. His doctor isn’t worried about it but wants to keep an eye on it. Two years ago (spine MRI) detected no curvature of his spine. A recent X-ray showed a mild S curve. His physical therapist said this is due to his posture and weakened abdominal muscles unable to keep him upright. I always refer to his therapist, as she is the one that explains EVERYTHING to us.

The genetic counselor talked to us about the heredity-aspect of titinopathy. It is so uncommon, therefore there’s little known how it’s passed down. My mom, her late brother (We miss you uncle Bub) and also my cousin have similar symptoms to Bennett. The idea was suggested that Bennett would have had the gene from me, with little to no issues but when having another bad copy it kind of leveled-it-up. We don’t know, we probably never will. My side of the family will be getting additional blood work to try and pinpoint where it came from and how it is passed down. It’s not typical to skip generations… clearly it has. Anyways.

And then the “W” word. We had 3 options we came up with. These options are to use when Bennett is fatigued and needs to rest, NOT to replace all of his walking. My son can walk, run and do almost everything other kids can. I want to make that clear.

1. We carry him

2. Stroller or wagon

3. Manual wheelchair

His physical medicine doctor made the decision pretty easy. Carry him? “No, that’s babyish, he’s 6.” That answer brought me back to a 3 year old Benny, “I’m not a baby, I’m a big boy!”

Stroller? Wagon? “It helps him rest but gives him no independence or control.”

So wheelchair it is. Bennett will only use this on long excursions or outings. It won’t be an everyday thing. He will learn to use a manual chair so that he can get around himself and strengthen his upper body at the same time (bingo!). I am scheduling that appointment Tuesday, as well as an appointment for him to get new AFO braces. He wears these to give his ankles support and prevent him from hyperextending his knees. He grows so fast that he usually gets a new pair every 6 months, our insurance loves us 😂.

Lastly, in October he will see his pulmonologist. The Dr will scold me for not making Bennett wear his bi-pap mask at night. I’m expecting they will want to do another sleep study. Bennett has sleep apnea, he thinks it’s okay to randomly stop breathing and then gasp for air. It sounds a whole lot worse than it is. I’m hoping that because Bennett is older he may be more accepting of the idea of strapping a mask onto his face at night.

After all those appointments we should have a break for the next few months besides physical therapy. YAY! More time to spend planning our wedding (Bryan and I are getting married in November).

Saturday we decided to walk out our backyard and go kayaking. Life is good and we are so lucky.

I am so touched, and extremely thankful for all of those who have prayed for our family and checked in on Bennett!

I thought that instead of using Facebook to post about Bennett’s medical shenanigans, I would use this. I could have never imagined what has happened the past few weeks. Bryan came home from work and woke me up with “did you read the text I sent you? Hurry! Read it!”

My silly yet serious blog, “Chocolate Milk and Tesla’s” (will explain that at some point) found its way to a family that has VERY giving hearts. A family gifted us a brand new chair-lift for the stairs, so Bennett can safely go up/down the stairs and stay in his room for the time being. How awesome is that? Bryan picked it up this week and we plan to get it installed soon.

A few other additions to our house recently.

Theses non-slip grips for our stairs. Bennett has 3 different blankets he transports with him when he comes downstairs at night. Black blanket – but it’s actually blue, and two others. We thought we’d give them a try in hopes that the stairs won’t be as slippery and the blankets won’t slide underneath him. I also was able to find an affordable video monitor to put in his room. ITS NOT A BABY MONITOR OKAY?! The idea of it is to have Bennett talk into it when he wakes up, so that we can go upstairs to bring him down. It’s a work in progress. It has WiFi too so when I’m at work I can spy on Benny and talk to him through the camera. I had to give the camera a “name” when I set it up, Rootbeer boy was Bennett’s suggestion. If you know Ben, you know he loves chocolate milk the most.

And lastly, meet our new labradoodle Tucker!

Bennett also suggested the names Chester, Janice and Charolette.We have been waiting so patiently for the right time to add a dog to our family, and the time came sooner than expected! We took a rode trip to Frisco, Texas to pick him up. As you may know, labs make GREAT service dogs. Labradoodles are said to be intelligent, empathetic and obedient, not to mention hypoallergenic. Our goal is to have him ready to start service dog training when he is 18 months. From what I’ve read, 18 months is the recommended age to begin. We want Tucker to be a service dog for Bennett. You may ask “why”… Here’s something I found that may be helpful.

Wheelchair Assistance

Service dogs can be trained to pull wheelchairs and to help wheelchairs up ramps and onto sidewalks. They can also help their owner move in and out of the wheelchair.

Anxiety Relief

Having a chronic illness can bring about many emotional and mental health problems. The calming nature of service and therapy dogs can help ease anxiety and petting dogs is known to release endorphins and reduce stress.

Retrieve Items

Service dogs can help neuromuscular disease patients by picking up dropped items and fetching items from other rooms, a vital service for someone who may find getting around difficult and painful.

Lowers Blood Pressure and Heart Rate

There is evidence that stroking a dog and sitting next to a dog lowers blood pressure and heart rate. The soothing effects of their body heat may also help with pain relief.

Improved Balance

Walking with a service dog can help people with milder forms of neuromuscular disorders who have trouble with their balance. The dogs can also help prop their owners in place to prevent falls.

Good Distraction

Looking after a service dog gives people something to focus on other than their illness. It can help patients develop positive routines and force them to get up and go out.

Exercise

Service dogs, like all dogs, need exercise, so having a service dog encourages owners to get some exercise each day.

Attract Attention

If you need help but are unable to draw attention yourself, your service dog will be able to bark loudly to attract attention from passersby or neighbors.

Promote Communication

Dogs have been known to help promote communication and often prompt conversation from strangers when out and about. They have also been used to help patients with speech disorders (source sciencedirect).

Help Around the House

Therapy dogs are able to help people around the house with simple tasks such as answering the doorbell, retrieving medication, opening and closing doors, and switching lights on and off.

The rest of this month is pretty “chill”, as Bennett only has physical therapy. Chill is just what we all need! Bennett started 1st grade at his new school! He was very nervous the first day but came home all smiles and seems to love it. His teacher is so sweet and communicates frequently with me, so that makes this crazy-mom happy. The first day Bennett went to school I watched the clock and tried to calculate the perfect time to leave our house for dismissal… it’s a 2 minutes walk. I was there 20 minutes early.

His appointment with his neurologist is September 5th, which is when we plan on talking more about the future. As always, thank you for your prayers, we feel them ❤️