We had our alarms set, but were also counting on one or both of the girls to wake us up (like they normally do), but today we all work up at 6:47 and needed to be out the door by 7:15 the latest. We had to hustle to get ready and out the door in time. We had our PT session at 8:15 this morning. Since it was so early Josh got to go with us. Since it was so early Josh could have taken Amaya by himself then taken her to school, but she asked that I come too, because she didn't want to have to do the bends and measurements without me. It would have been nice to have the "morning off" but I was glad to go along and help her. If I can ease her pain or make it easier for her in any way I'm more than happy to help. Hopefully in a few weeks her therapy will ease up a bit and then he can take her alone, on days that it works out. Amaya wore her ankle weight on the way down and to therapy (for forty five minutes). It's a great way to stretch the knee before we get there, especially on early mornings. Today we got to work with Melissa, it was nice to work with her again. Although all the therapist are nice, and helpful I do see a benefit of having the same therapist everyday. When we did our bends today Amaya worked hard and was able to get her highest number all week, 87! Melissa was proud of Amaya for making a four degree jump since yesterday and told her that if she can continue to make a jump each day, she'll be in the hundreds again soon (maybe a couple of weeks).
On the way out we saw Dr.Nelson in the parking lot. He was getting ready to leave and came over to talk to us first. He asked Amaya how she was doing, and how therapy went. He noticed a tear on her eye and said, "I see a tear in your eye, did it hurt?" She said yes. He asked if things had gotten easier since we stopped lengthening. We let him know that we didn't see an immediate change, but are now starting to see some (her knee bends more and her pain has lessened). We told him how well she's been doing; going to school everyday, and her pain managed. He was glad to hear that and thanked me for my email last week. I let him know that we received blog updates from the mission organization, Caribbean Orthopedics, that he works with while he was in Haiti and showed Amaya what he was doing there. We let him know that Amaya has been going to school everyday and that she has her kindergarten graduation next week. And that she still wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. He smiled and said that was neat. Then he rode off in his Vespa (which upped his coolness factor in our book). I appreciate that he took the time to come over and talk to Amaya and us. He's always been very kind, warm and friendly to us. I'm glad and thankful that Amaya likes him, feels comfortable with him and trusts him. That's very important when you're undergoing such a lengthy procedure. I couldn't imagine doing this with a doctor we weren't comfortable with or that we didn't trust. Dr.Nelson is wonderful.
After therapy Josh took Amaya to school. She'll stay there all day then come home, do school homework and PT homework, then eat, shower and get ready for bed.
After massaging Amaya's knee Melissa did some bends. Amaya's starting measurement was 46, which is is really good considering how early in the morning it was.
Then she did some scoots on the scooter. This works Amaya's knee a good work out because it forces the knee to bend so much.
Next came lunges. Amaya would lunge then pick up a ball and throw a ball at Savannah Rose.
Here's what 46 degrees looks like on the goniometer, which is what her knee measured at when we got there.
And here's what it looks like at 90 degrees. Amaya has to get her knee from her starting point (today it was 46) to 90. Ninety is the goal, but she hasn't met it all week.
Next Melissa had Amaya stand on that step then step off of it with her right leg and bend the left knee. It was a stretch and Amaya had to work hard to keep her hips level.
After that Amaya did the stand to sitting stretches. She did five of those today.
Before we started our bends to get to 90 Amaya used her right leg to push on the left to see how much she could push it. Melissa was hoping that this would give Amaya's right leg a break (it gets very tired when she bends and starts to shake). She also hoped it would help with hip pain (the skin stretches because the fixator is heavy and pulls on her skin as she bends). Amaya's knee was at 55 before she pushed and then it jumped up to 64 as she pushed.
Dad and Lidie played restaurant. The nice thing about early appointments is that dad can come with us.
Thanks again for reading and being a part of this journey.
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