Conrad Smiles

9 – 12 March 2013

liztullis — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:32:33 +0000

Conrad was back at CAMP “Camp” for Spring Break. CAMP stands for Children’s Association for Maximum potential. You can refer to the June 28th update to read more of my praise for this organization and the volunteers they attract. I would like you to meet Abby:

Howdy, my name is Abby Dickerson [...]

3 January 2013

liztullis — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:49:50 +0000

Today is the anniversary of Conrad’s accident. 9 years and 53 “Conrad updates” later, we continue to celebrate his life and continued progress.

If you read/re-read our January posts from 2005-2012, you will notice a trend:

Gratitude for his life (he was given only a 5% chance of survival) Celebration of the successes Intentions for [...]

31 October 2012

liztullis — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:35:12 +0000

The research study has begun!

Since we first announced the pending research study in our January update, the number 1 question has been: “When will it start?” We are so glad to now answer: “It Has!”

As a reminder, Dr. Peter Fox of the UT Health Science Center agreed to lead the FIRST research project [...]

19 October 2012

liztullis — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 03:15:55 +0000

Sam is Conrad’s best friend. I know this because Sam told me and I can tell by how Conrad responds to Sam that Conrad agrees. Sam has been a steady influence in Conrad’s recovery since they first met over 4 years ago. I am honored to share an article penned by Sam that was [...]

28 June 2012

liztullis — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:21:09 +0000

Conrad goes to camp CAMP!

Conrad spent 5 nights away from home at Summer “camp CAMP” this month! CAMP stands for Children Association for Maximum Potential, an organization with the mission to strengthen and inspire individuals with special needs. Anyone that has followed Conrad’s journey knows that those words fit [...]

22 February 2012

liztullis — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:00:14 +0000

Meet Arnie!

Arnegger (Arnie) is a seven year old American Warmblood Pony and is one of the horses in Conrad’s weekly therapy led by Nikki Salzillo, Kathy Rubbo and Diana (Di) Hellgren.

Since a horse’s gait mimics how we walk, the team is working to “wake up” those muscles in Conrad while improving muscle strength [...]

3 January 2012

liztullis — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:29:54 +0000

Happy New Year!

Today marks the 8th anniversary of Conrad’s accident. We celebrate life and we reflect on the gains Conrad continues to make on his road to recovery. In 2011, Conrad started an assisted walking program using a stander and treadmill. He added speech therapy to his weekly routine to help him develop more [...]

11 November 2011

liztullis — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:02:54 +0000

Anyone who has spent any time around Conrad knows he is aware of his environment and communicates.

He answers yes/no questions with body and head movement. He follows simple commands in English and Spanish. He has also increased his repertoire of sounds: “Ehh that approximates yes; “Guh” for good or in response to something younger [...]

24 July 2011

liztullis — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:24:12 +0000

Happy Birthday Conrad!

Conrad turned 9 years old today. We mark his birthday with the release of his website conradsmiles.com. The site is still in development so please send us any feedback and/or suggestions as to the type of information you would like for us to include.

Enjoy the day and please smile at least one [...]

14 April 2011

bcondon — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:56:48 +0000

Conrad Walks!

Conrad is back to his full therapy routine… with a twist. Utilizing a lift system, Conrad can walk with assistance on a treadmill and the ground. In addition to the stimulation and sensory input, the method increases circulation and provides the movement necessary to maintain the hip correction, post surgery. Please watch the [...]