Today was Amaya's first day of first grade. It has also been six months since her surgery, and its been six months that we've been living with a fixator. It seems so long ago, yet it doesn't' feel like the time has gone by fast. It's kind of hard to explain.
After getting the girls ready I headed down to Amaya's school first to do some PTA stuff. On my drive down I was thinking about Amaya starting a new school year. That always brings so many emotions: joy, excitement, sadness, nostalgia, etc. I realized that this will be her third school year that she has a surgery. In Begindergarten she had her super knee, in Kindergarten she had her hip osteotomy, had the fixator put on and began lengthening. Today she starts first grade with a fixator on and will have surgery to remove it in the fall. I was a bit saddened by this reality, but had to smile and be proud of just how well Amaya has handled all of those things at such a young age. Some people have asked us if we considered home schooling or recommend it for others during their surgeries. Each child and each case is different, but school was a good outlet and distraction for Amaya and I'm glad we did it like we did.
Josh brought the girls down to school and I got to take a break from my PTA duties to go walk her into her class. When Josh and the girls walked in I was pleasantly surprised to see that Amaya walked into school (without her walker or wheelchair). She decided to try walking all day since it was a minimum day. I was so proud of her and all those feelings off sadness that I had earlier just vanished. Several teachers mentioned to Josh that they were so surprised, happy and excited to see Amaya walking around the school. I walked her into class and stayed with her a few minutes. She said she was a bit nervous. After a few minutes I asked if she was ready for me to go and she said yes. She gave me a kiss then we left. As I walked out I was confident that she would do fine.
She had such a great first day! She loves her teacher (whom she got to work with last year) and her friends (most of the class is made up of kids from her kindergarten class). She walked all day and didn't need any pain medication while she was there. Several teachers told Josh that when they saw her throughout the day she looked great. As Josh talked with her teacher, Ms. Gillespie, her kindergarten teacher came over and asked how she did today. She asked about her pain and how she did at lunch. Ms.Gillespie said that Amaya had no pain and did fine at lunch time. When Amaya was in kindergarten she was still undergoing the lengthening portion and had a significant amount of pain (especially toward the end) and had a hard time during lunch. It was very nice of Mrs. Griessbach to check up on Amaya. It's so nice having so many teachers and staff looking out for her; it really helps calm my nerves.
After school I picked up Amaya in her wheelchair to give her a break after all that walking she did today. We saw the P.E. teacher, Mr. M and he asked about her day and what we thought would work for her during P.E.. I told him that I would ask Melissa what she recommends, but let him know that Amaya is still susceptible to falls and can get hurt if her fixator gets bumped. I told him that Amaya is pretty good about knowing her limits and letting others know what she can and can't do.
We had some time to kill before her therapy appointment so we ran some errands. Amaya said she was tired and wanted to go home and skip therapy. It'll be nice having Tuesday and Thursdays off from therapy, to give her a break. When we got to therapy Amaya let Melissa know about meeting Rory, her swimming class, and her first day of school. Melissa was proud of Amaya for walking all day today and swimming. Melissa said that Penelope said hello. We had met her at therapy a few weeks ago, she's undergoing a tibia lengthening and is also six years old. I'm surprised we haven't crossed paths at therapy yet, but I'm sure we will soon. We wish them well as they are in the beginning phase of lengthening.
Melissa started by massaging Amaya's knee then stretching it. Then she had her do some squats (which she recommended that Amaya do during P.E. along with riding a bike). Then Amaya did some lunges. After that she rode the bike and did the big loop. When we came back into the peds gym she sat in a bent position to stretch the knee then climbed the ladder. As she did that Melissa had her throw balls to distract her. Before we started bends dad asked Amaya what her goal was. She hadn't come up with one so he said that she should try his goal, "93, in 3." Her knee had a starting measurement of 50 (a little less than on Friday). With a scoot she got up to 69, which is great! I started my stopwatch and she started her beds. She gained a lot quickly, and in one minute and fifty-seven seconds she got 94! What a great way to start a week! We were all amazed! Melissa thinks that the swimming helped loosen and stretch her muscles. On the way out Amaya
Last night and tonight she was able to get her bar locked in place pretty easily. Although she did cry and moan in pain last night she hasn't tonight (thankfully). She's been asleep now for almost four hours and hasn't cried or moaned once. I hope that continues for the rest of the night.
Amaya outside of her classroom, ready to start her first day in first grade!
Here she is at her desk.
After massaging and stretching her knee Melissa had Amaya sit back onto the blue table to stretch her knee as she sat.
Here she is getting ready to do her lunges.
Melissa had Amaya ride the bike around the big loop.
Amaya got to climb up and down the ladder five times.
Here's a close up of her on the ladder.
Melissa measuring Amaya's starting bend.
Here she is doing her bends. When she had pain she said, "mom."Which was very sweet and sad. She did so great today!
After a great day Melissa rewarded Amaya with a ride on the zip-line. Then Amaya sweet talked her into a second ride. I was happy, because I got to videotape the second one.
Lidie also go to ride twice. Her smile tells just how happy it made her.
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