No Woes on Wednesday!!!

(Pictures aren't uploading.  Give it time.  They will come.)


Can I just say....

I'm so happy.

I was so dreading this trip, for a lot of reasons.  But as soon as I walked through the door of Now I Can Monday morning, I felt this flood of peace.  That only got stronger, and turned to excitement, when Mark started to work with Samantha and begin her initial evaluation.  I don't know Mark.  I knew there was a new physical therapist, and I was just nervous.  But Mark worked with Sammy comfortably and with ease, and she warmed up to him immediately.  I was so happy.

Tuesday and Wednesday I missed out on therapy.  I dropped her off and wasn't able to return until it was time to pick her up.  Tuesday I headed to the airport to pick up my parents, Wednesday I was sick.  (Feeling better after some good solid sleep)

Wednesday.  What a great day.  She fussed.  She cried.  At time, the crazy girl screamed out in frustration.  But already, on day 3, I'm seeing changes.

* When lying on her side, she normally curls up in fetal position.  She's already starting to elongate her body and rest on her elbow.

* Feet.  Big problem and one of our biggest concerns.  She is beginning to stand flat foot.  Walk flat foot?  Not yet.  But stand?  Beginning to.

* Tuesday, when Nichole worked with her, she couldn't get any response to some muscle activation.  Today, response.  So, her feet.  Dorsal flexion.  She's always on tippy toes and pointed with a prima ballerina.  Nichole tried to stimulate a response, her toes didn't even budge.  Nichole said it was like Sammy's brain had no idea what to do...that they could even move her toes.  Day 3, she's starting to wiggle them.

* Tuesday: Sammy needs a forceful amount of cueing to open up her rib cage...and even still, she wouldn't do it.  Wednesday: With a moderate cue, Sammy is starting to pull her shoulders back and open her rib cage.

* I'm noticing just after a few days of this session, when she's having her snack in the stander, she isn't as hunched over.  She is standing up straighter and her shoulders are more relaxed.

I talked to Nichole for awhile about Sammy, what it is we want to work on, what my concerns are, what's going on with Sammy's body.  This is what I learned:

* It's not Sammy's Achilles tendon or even her calves.  It's her dang hamstrings that are so tight.  Her her glutes.  Those 2 muscles are dominating her body -- or at least lower body.  They are always tight.  When she's laying on her back, her knees pop up and her toes are pointed...it's because of those hammy's and glutes.  We're working on that.

The thing that really made me (thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon) happy was when Nichole said that because she's already doing so well, it shows that those neural pathways are still there.  The seizures haven't "destroyed" the pathways.  Maybe those pathways became dormant, but she's pretty quickly relearning those things she once could do.  Yeah!

I can tell Samantha's much more comfortable with the movements.  Sore?  Yep.  We can tell her muscles are sore.  But she'll get a nice warm bath today before she goes to bed and she'll sleep well before we hit it again tomorrow.  I'm so proud of her and I just keep getting confirmation after another that we are where we need to be.