Ok, I know I didn't want to talk about therapy yesterday, but I sure do want to today! It's funny how one day I think that we should just get on a plane and come home, and then the next day I think we should stay another two weeks :-)
Anyway, yesterday afternoon Lila's new quad canes arrived here at the hotel. This morning we took them with us to therapy, had them cut down a bit to fit her size, and she began her journey to upright, balanced walking. You may think, "it seemed as though her sticks gave her the ability to maintain upright balanced walking", which was the case in one way, but actually harmful in another. The great thing about her sticks is that they have given her a ton of confidence in her ability to be upright and controlled, more so than ever before. The bad thing is that there is a tendency to lean forward on the sticks in order to maintain your balance (at least for Lila). So, when we arrived here and she began balancing exercises the first day, she was on her two feet, but had to lean forward (like you would see one of those "skiers" on a commercial) so far that she could not regain her balance and would fall to the floor every time. This habit has been formed so quickly from using the sticks, that we need to transition to some assistive device that allows her to use the strength of her legs (not her arms, as with the sticks), and her own balance to begin walking upright, and then transition to independent walking. This is what the quad canes will do for her!
After the frustration of having to pay for the sticks, expedite them to get them in time to use them here in Louisiana, and then pay more to get them cut down to a smaller size (these are now the most expensive sticks ever seen!), I needed some fresh air. I ventured outside to make a couple of calls, and within 10 minutes Przemek comes running outside with this look of excitement. I head back in to the studio only to find Lila walking with one quad cane, and full balance! The most exciting part is that the next step for her is independent walking! WOW! (I am very excited about this, even though it may take a long time...at least we are in the right track to independence!!!).
The moral of the story is that everyone has a bad day here and there (Lila's was yesterday) but it doesn't mean that I should give up on her, as today she could not have done better! Lila proved her skills today more than Przemek and I could have ever imagined :-)
Tomorrow I will have a video of this exciting time to share. Until then, have yourself a good night and smile with me in the excitement of Lila's new skills!
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