Aria's NAPA Intensive

The Neurological and Physical Abilitation Center, commonly known as NAPA, is the best therapeutic center for kids with Cerebral Palsy in the US. They offer 3 week intensive therapies throughout the year. And every year when registration opens, they book up within minutes. I had been trying to get Aria accepted into their intensive therapy program since finding out about the center a couple years ago. When registration opened for 2022, I was ready and waiting to get our application submitted as soon as the link went live. Of course, there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of other people doing the exact same thing and the link would not load. Finally after clicking on it for what felt an eternity, I was able to get through and submit our preferences on dates and locations. 

A couple weeks later, we got the email...ARIA GOT IN!! Not only did she get in, but she got into our top choice of location and dates. We'd be spending the first 3 weeks of August in Denver! 

There was quite a bit to figure out logistically. How do we get there? Where would we stay? Who was coming with? Eventually the plans all came together and we were set for our adventure. 

On July 30, I strategically loaded up the mini van with all our essentials PLUS Aria's bath chair, eating chair, mini-wheel chair and special needs stroller. How I managed to pack it all into the back of our van with all seven of us loaded, I'm still not sure!

On the first day, we drove to Lincoln, NE. We got there with plenty of time to grab dinner and go swimming. The next morning we loaded up once again bound for our final destination - Colorado! Our first 3 nights we stayed in hotel just a few minutes from NAPA. The location was great and it did have a pool, but the temperature was frigid and the hotel space was limited. Trying to keep little people quiet and entertained in such a small area got old fast. 

Finally, on day 4, our VRBO house was ready for us to check in. It was perfect - 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a fantastic back yard complete with pool, hot tub, play set, and lots of green space. There was plenty to do to keep the big kids busy while Aria and I were busy at NAPA.

The play set had a zip line attached that shot across the back yard. Rose, Kate (with some assistance) and Cole loved it!

They would climb on from the tall play set structure and hold on for dear life as they'd zoom towards a tree. YIKES! The home owner made sure to post several signs making us well aware that we were using it "at our own risk". The kids thought it was a blast (and no one was injured!)

The slide on the play set was at a somewhat ridiculous incline. It was easy to see that it had been intended for a much shorter play set. Kate was brave enough to go down it, not just once, but many times. She just may have face planted once or twice.

Towards the end of our stay, the girls discovered a sand box in the back corner and let their creative juices run as they worked hard creating their sculptures.

The hot tub was also a crowd favorite...

Even Aria started asking to go into the hot tub instead of the pool. I'm sure the warm water felt great on her sore muscles after her long hard days working at NAPA.

Unfortunately we had some issues with the heat so most days it was lukewarm. Owen tried to solve the heat loss problem by hopping in with the cover still on.

Inside, the massage chair was quite popular amongst the kids. 

Kate thought it the perfect place to relax and kept the cucumbers from her salad for a pretend spa day.

Aria had 4 hours of therapy daily Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, then a 2 1/2 hour break and back we'd be from 12:30 - 2:30. The schedule could not have been more perfect with plenty of time to nap and eat during the break. 

Her morning consisted of 2 hours of neurosuit - one hour with a PT and one hour with an OT. The neurosuit is made up of a vest, shorts, and knee pads that are all connected together via bungee cords. It helps to provide support and alignment. While wearing the neurosuit, Aria worked on kneeling, standing, knee walking, walking, crawling, and pushing up into sitting. By the end of that second hour, Aria was pretty beat and ready for some rest. On a side note, one of the OT interns that was part of Aria's team of therapists was from Shoreview and grew up just a mile up the road from our house and even went to our church - talk about a small world! 

Our afternoons were a bit more fun with one hour of Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) - a new and exciting type of therapeutic intervention - followed by one hour of feeding/speech therapy. In DMI, Aria was able to do some very exciting moves - lots of sitting up, some stepping, and quite a bit of standing - but all in dynamic ways. 

She even stood all by herself on a board that was being held by her therapist! It was amazing!

Feeding and speech therapy was not nearly as exciting. She worked on several oral motor activities - trying to get better lip closure and tongue movement - as well as using her communication device. Aria has never been interested in using her communication device - she'd rather reach or sign to get her needs across - but during our 3 week session, she stopped pushing it away and started to touch all the various buttons so that alone was huge progress.

After the first week, Shane headed back to work and my parents came to stay with us. The kids were in heaven having Nana Bev and Popi Jerry all to themselves. Cole, Rose and Kate all bunked up with Nana. It felt like a bit of a vacation to me too only having one kiddo to tend to throughout the night versus three!

 

We packed our weekends full of fun things to do in Denver. The Denver Children's Museum was a hit for all. They had so many fun and interesting exhibits to explore. Some of our favorites were the grocery store and kitchen...

A vet clinic...

A carpenter shop...

A giant lite-brite...

Wind...

Fog...

And lots of fun with bubbles...

There were climbing structures both inside and out. The outdoor one was huge! Only Shane, Rose and Kate were brave enough to explore it...

 

The weather had been excruciatingly hot during our stay, but cooled down enough just in time for us to head to the Denver Zoo. We had a great time strolling around and visiting all the various exhibits. Some favorites were the sting rays, monkeys and elephants.

Owen had been reading up on things to do in the area and was quite interested in the special Egypt display that was visiting the Denver Science Museum for a limited time. Cole and Popi Jerry decided to enjoy a quiet morning at the house while the rest of us ventured to the museum. 

I took Owen and Aria to the Egypt display while Nana Bev kept Rose and Kate busy exploring the other exhibits. 

We met back up and Owen had a brain match first against me (he beat me in seconds!) and then against Nana Bev. They sat like this for some time both focusing on moving the ball on the table with their minds. It was quite bizarre. Finally we called it a tie and moved onto the next exhibit.

The dinosaur exhibit was one that we just had to see. There were several dinosaur replicas to view.

Aria's favorite was by far the toddler exhibit complete with a sand pit filled with tiny bits of rubber that she kept tossing in the air and a water table where she splashed so much she was drenched and needed a wardrobe change.

Outside the exhibits, there was a huge screen on the wall videoing the area. Random animals would appear on the screen as though they were in the room with you. The rhino was pretty funny to watch the kids reactions.

Our last fun outing was to the Denver Aquarium. 

We saw otters...

A tiger which seemed quite odd at an aquarium...

And so, so many fish...

The highlight was the sting ray exhibit.  The kids were able to touch them and even feed them... 

Our three week stay went by surprisingly quickly and soon it was our last day at NAPA. After Aria's last session, her therapists all got together to give her a certificate, t-shirt, and to bid her a fond farewell. What an amazing experience! Aria came home so much stronger and ready to conquer her next goals.