Horse Show and Father's Day

Monday, June 15th:

My migraines have been getting worse over the last five years. I've been to the chiropractor and in October 2024 I went to an Optometrist. The eye doctors concluded that I have perfect eye sight and he didn't think my migraines were caused by my need for glasses.

A month ago I was talking to Theo's PT, Ms. Becca, about my migraines. She said I need go to see a developmental optometrist. I told her I saw an eye doctor and my eyes were fine. She then asked if she could do a little test with me. She held up one of Theo's tonies and had me follow the toy without turning my head. I struggled to follow the toy with just my eyes. After a few more tests she told me to go see her guy. I trust Becca, so I called and made an appointment. 

After Theo and Nurse Stephanie went to school I headed north to Naperville to see Dr. David Martin at the Family Vision Development Center. We talked about my history with my eyes and migraines. He asked me if I've ever had a concussion. I remember one time as a child I was rolling down a big hill with my cousin and her knee hit my head really hard. I saw stars! I remember my parents checking on me in the night to make sure I was fine. And I guess I was. Who knows?! 

Dr. Martin then did a bunch of tests and I was able to read the smallest lines all perfectly. He put some drops in my eyes and checked my eye pressure and he did a few other tests where I had to tell him when I saw two of something vs one.

He said I did have 20/20 vision, but that's only 6% of what vision really is.

He then set me up to do the "Right Eye" exam. I sat in front of a computer, which tracked my eyes. I had a hard time getting the computer calibrated, so we were already off to a rough start. 

I struggled BAD with all of the test. He kept telling me to follow the dots or to look at the dots and I thought I was, but apparently I wasn't. My eyes jump around a lot and do no move in straight lines even when I want them too. 

After the test was done we went over the results. And I had failed HARD! 15 out of 100!

Dr. Martin asked me if I have neck problems and if I get headaches that come from my upper back or neck. I wouldn't call it a "neck problem," but I definitely get headaches that start in my neck. He asked me if I struggle with reading. Nope, I read a lot. He asked me if I move my eyes or head when I read. I don't really know. I think I move my head, not my eyes. 

After all the exams and a nice chat, he determined that I would benefit from glasses that will help pull my eyes together. That would help to strengthen my eyes and they won't get tired as quickly. He said that these glasses could also help my neck. Since I turn my head a lot (instead of moving my eyes), my neck is over used and that can cause headaches and migraines. 

He told me that I could also benefit from some red light therapy, so I am going to see another doctor in his office for that.

Dr. Martin told me that I only need to wear the glasses when I am reading or on my computer. He said that they can make people a little nauseated at first, so I should take them off if they start to bother me. 

I then met with a lady who helped me pick out glasses. I picked out some large ones and she said "Oh no! Absolutely not!" She then recommended round ones (like Harry Potter!) and we settled on these round ones with a little cat eye.

We ordered the glasses and they should be here in two weeks! I really hope they help my eyes get stronger! I am so sick of these migraines!

I had heard a lot about the Chicken Salad Chicks from my friends in Utah, so I decided to check it out while I was in Naperville. I got the regular chicken salad and it was good! Nothing to write home about. The buttery croissant was delicious as was the cookie 😋 I'll have to try another flavor of chicken salad next time I am there!

After school Theo had PT with Ms. Becca. I showed her my results and she said she was not surprised! 😬

Tuesday, June 16th:

Theo and Nurse Stephanie went to school, Josh headed up to Elmhurst for work, and I jumped on a Zoom with the Windsor Hills HOA. After school we went to The Legacy Ranch for lessons with Ms. Kaylin. Unfortunately Sherman was injured, so Theo got to ride Ajax. Ajax isn't used to Theo, so instead of walking slowly he would just take a few steps and then stop completely and then take a few steps and then stop completely. Theo was a little impatient with him! We all know Theo likes to go GO!

That evening we heard that Theo's school was going to be canceled on Wednesday due to potential strong storms and tornados. 

Ugh. I hate severe weather season. I am just so happy we have a basement!

Wednesday, June 17th:

Theo stayed home with me and we waited for the tornados to show up. Luckily, the cold front pushed further south than what was predicted. Unfortunately, that dropped a couple of tornados down by Peoria, but we were safe up here.

As of Wednesday night we are approaching the state record that was set in 2024. Good times.

[Theo has a huge bed, but he likes to cuddle up at the bottom of the bed for some reason]

Due to the storms the golf tournament that Josh and Northern Integrity were going to participate in got postponed until next month. I guess I'll have to hold onto my raffle bags for another month!

Thursday, June 18th:

At school, Theo has been learning about the ocean. He brought home some art and of course I hung it on the wall!

That afternoon I went and saw Toy Story 5! It was soooo cute!

Here are all the people who benefit from Adult Changing Stations. The list keeps growing! That's why it's so important for public places to get these tables installed!

Friday, June 19th:

Theo hung out with Nurse Stephanie at home while I worked in the basement. Ms. Becca came over in the afternoon for PT. Theo was really struggling even though he had a long nap earlier in the day. We put Theo down for a nap at the end of his PT session and he went right to sleep. This time he was face to face with Baby Yoda ❤️

Weekend:

We met up with Josh at the Francis Field Youth Foundation for a horse show. We went and saw a few of our horse and people friends compete for The Legacy Ranch.

[Watching the horse show and playing with dad!]

It was a beautiful day! Congrats to all the riders!

Josh continues to work up in Elmhurst during the week. It's a long drive for him, but at least gas prices are coming down a bit!

Sunday was Father's Day! We got to FaceTime with my family! We have some really amazing dads, stepdads, and papas in our family!

Theo got this card for Josh. Now that Josh golfs it opens up a whole new world of birthday and father's day cards!

I have a lot of thoughts on what is happening at the DOJ concerning their memo about the Olmstead Act. I'm too mad to write about it now, but I'll gather my thoughts and write about it in the future. Or I'll just link to someone else's blog who can put their thoughts into words much better than I can.

And let's end the post with some of my favorite memes about the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC:

Abilities Expo & Tornados

Monday, June 8th:

We have gotten a lot of rain around here lately! It's been great for my flowers, but the tallest things in my flower boxes right now are mushrooms! They grow so fast!

[Zoom in!]

Theo and Nurse Stephanie went to ESY while Josh and I went to work. Theo had a great day at ESY. He wore his glasses and went in the hammock!

I listened in on the HOA meeting for our condo, but I lost interest after a LONG discussion about auto locks on the trash benches. It literally went on for over 30 minutes. Some on the board want automatic locks on our trash benches because guests forget to lock them and raccoon's get in there and make a mess. Two of the board members think that they could be dangerous if a child got in there and the bench automatically locked. There was a LONG discussion about what "Due Diligence" is and at that point I had to log off. Ugh. 

Here is the trash bench that is the root of all the drama:

There is a small lock on the right side. We ask our guests to make sure the lid is closed and locked or else the raccoon's can get in, but they don't always do that. The auto locks will help, but they only work if the guests don't overflow the bench to begin with.

We'll see what happens at the next board meeting!

After school Ms. Laura came over for OT. Theo had a seizure during her session, so he got a little tired. But he still worked hard!

Tuesday, June 9th:

Theo and Nurse Stephanie headed off to school while I jumped on a call with an insurance broker. 

I learned that there is another property owner who is looking to sell their land to a data center builder. I've approached the Minooka Village Board multiple times in the past to discuss putting in additional traffic lights at dangerous intersections and putting in another grocery store, they have always responded the same way. "We want to keep the village "small town." They think that adding in traffic lights and another grocery store will keep the village small and give it that classic small town feel. Since then multiple warehouses, a tractor supply, another Starbucks, 5 Dollar Generals, a CN train depot, AND a data center have been put in. But sure, a traffic light is going to ruin the village. AND NOW there is another farmer who wants to rezone their land to sell it to a data center builder. It's completely insane.

The white dotted rectangles on the west side are where the current data center is being built. The yellow area is where the new data center would go. It's massive!

After school we took Theo to The Legacy Ranch for his ridding lessons with Sherman and Ms. Kaylin.

I can't believe I have to keep saying this, but please PLEASE do not park in the hash mark spots. We need the space for our ramp or else we can't get Theo in the van without pulling into traffic and loading him. 

Wednesday, June 10th:

Theo and Ms. Jess headed to ESY and I jumped on a Zoom with Theo's dietitian, Ms. Jeannine. Theo is down to 53 lbs and is still 51" long. We are going to increase his food slightly. He doesn't need to lose weight, he needs to plateau.

I then went to The Legacy Ranch to meet with Kate, their event coordinator. We discussed holding a launch party for the Little Lobbyists there in the fall. I want it to be a Fall Fest with a pumpkin patch, apple cider donuts, face painting, music, apple cider, fudge, pumpkin painting, pictures with the horses, and maybe even an accessible tractor ride. We have A LOT of planning to do and we need to present the idea to the Board at the Legacy Ranch, but I think it's going to go well! I sent a detailed email to the Little Lobbyists and they seem really excited about it. We need to figure out a budget and then we can get started!

I got some fun SWAG for Changing Spaces Campaign. If I'm not too busy at the Fall Festival I hope to man a Changing Spaces table.

After Theo got home from school we got a tornado warning that told us to take cover. It was literally sunny outside. So I popped my head out of the back door and looked west. The sky was BLACK and moving at us quickly. We turned on the news and they confirmed that a fast moving storm with rotation was going to hit us in four minutes. Josh had just gotten home, so he grabbed Theo and headed to the basement. I grabbed a few things and came down right after them.

The storm was LOUD and dark, but it was all over in just a few minutes. Luckily, there were only a few downed trees in the area and everything was okay. I'm not necessarily concerned with us getting directly hit by a tornado (what are the chances?! *knock on wood*), but we have a lot of large windows and the last thing I need is for the neighbors trampoline or backyard furniture to come flying through the windows.

After the storm was over we headed back upstairs. We have a ceiling lift for Theo in the living room and in his bedroom and we have a elevator in our garage. But I would love to get a stair lift so that we don't have to carry Theo into the basement. The stairs are steep and unfinished, so the last thing I want is someone falling as they carried Theo to safety. 

If you live in Illinois make sure you join my Changing Spaces Facebook group! Most of the other state chapters have groups too. Joining a group is a great way to stay up to date on everything going on in your state!

Thursday, June 11th:

We knew that some nasty storms would be heading our way this afternoon, so I wanted to get a picture of my flowers before they all blew away!

I had a call with an OT student who is doing her capstone project on changing tables and caregivers. We chatted for about 30 minutes and I am so excited for her! In the end she wants to help write up a pamphlet that we can pass out to local businesses to encourage them to install powered, height adjustable, adult size changing tables.

Theo and Nurse Stephanie went to ESY, but they were sent home early due to the storms coming in. We were in a level 4 out of 5, which means long track tornados were a possibility. 

Once the storms started firing up we turned on the news. There was a large wedge tornado that had touched down and was heading right at us. The storms were moving a lot slower than yesterday, so we had time to prepare.

[Not my picture!]

The storms chasers were following multiple tornados that were on the move! The large wedge tornado ended up being an EF3 and there was another stove pipe EF 2 along side it. As the storms got closer they started to head more east-northeast instead of northeast at us. Unfortunately both tornadoes went through Streator where one of our friends live. She said that they took shelter and a lot of houses in their neighborhood were damaged, but they were safe and had no damage to their property!

We still got hit with some intense thunderstorms, but the tornados stayed to our south. 

[Some of the damage in Streator]

The tornados weakened and passed through Coal City where two of Theo's therapists live. They were fine! Apparently the tornados took off and then reformed again close to the Indiana border. They ended up doing a lot of damage there too, but luckily no one was killed!

That night we had a beautiful sunset!

Weekend:

Our weekend during ESY starts on Friday, since they only have ESY Monday through Thursday. Nurse Stephanie came over to hang out with Theo while Josh and I worked.

On Saturday, Theo and I headed up to the Farmers Market in Wheaton. Josh was working close by so he met us there. It was super busy and there were a lot of cool things to buy.

After the Farmers Market we went to the Abilities Expo! We've gone before and it's a lot of fun to see all the cool inventions that they have for people with disabilities!

[Truck with front doors that open upwards]

[Super cool jogger that I really want, but it's sooooo expensive!]

During the rest of the weekend we watched the FIFA World Cup and the Knicks win their first NBA Championship in over 50 years!