Raising Dakota Podcast Courtney Sand

In this episode I share how we communicate with school and my expectations with communication. I like to talk and be aware of what is going on in Dakota's life and having effective communication with staff that cares for Dakota is a huge piece of advocating. I always like to have communication establish and provide an example for Dakota so that one day he can advocate for himself. 

After a long 2 months of recovery I finally had time to start recording episodes again. This episode I just bring you all up to spend on Dakota’s surgery and everything we have been doing the last 2 months.

In this episode I share more of the mental toll this surgery has had on me. While it is obvious that there physical things that needs to be done to prepare for surgery it can a toll on you mentally, physically, and emotionally. Physically preparing for Surgery and making sure everything is in place helps me be able mentally be prepared for any procedure and recovery. Knowing possible outcomes, wait to expect and fully dealing with these emotions up front helps me be 100 percent during the surgery and recovery process. 

Since we are so close to Dakota's hip surgery I thought this is the perfect time to share how I prepare for surgery, and recovery. There are a lot of things that have to happen to make sure a surgery moves smoothly and I tried to share all the things that work best for our family in this episode. Communication is your biggest friend before, during, and after surgery. 

Being a special needs parent we don't get too many breaks from working on goals but a few breaks here and there is always good. Trying to find a balance between work and play can be hard but is very important for both you and your special needs child. In this weeks episode I share with you how we make summer time work for Dakota. What we do to make activities easier and how we reengage him during summer time. We try our best to make sure Dakota enjoys all the summer activities comfortably and still continues to make strides towards all goals.

Equipment is one thing that makes our life easier but also consumes a lot of our life. We are thankful for the medical equipment and technology that we have access to but it can be overwhelming and a lot. In this weeks episode I share with you the equipment that Dakota has, how we store it and the routines that work best for us with School and Daycare.