Weekend Update

Friday
     Spent another half an hour on the phone trying to get Amaya's next appointment with Dr.Nelson scheduled, were supposed to see him next week, but her authorization hasn't been entered so we still have to wait. Marilou did her side of it two weeks ago, but we still need Loma Linda to do theirs. It's so frustrating trying to get things done, when you're a bit powerless to do anything.
     In the lobby at therapy a girl, maybe six or seven, walked by Amaya staring then said, "ewe." I said, "that's not very nice." But her and her dad said and did nothing. Amaya heard her and didn't understand why the girls said that, I don't either.
At therapy...
      Melissa put new tape on Amaya's knee. Her knee was hurting the night before so I'm glad she did. Amaya rode the bike. Melissa asked Amaya if she wanted to use the total gym. Amaya said no at first, but when we let her know that it helps her knee bend and reach her goals (her goal was 100). She agreed to do it. She did a lot of bends there then we started knee bends. Her starting measurement was 56, but with a small scoot she got 64, then 73. After 45 pulls she was at 99, then Melissa asked her to do two bigs pulls/bends hoping that she'd reach her goal of 100, but she got 101! We were all so happy and impressed! Melissa did hip stretches so that Amaya's hip wouldn't bother her on the long car ride to Phoenix. Melissa asked Amaya to walk out, to help her hip, so she pushed Melissa out.
     Amaya did great on the car ride to Phoenix, just minimal hip pain and numb toes. It was the longest car ride she's been in with her fixator on. We got there in time for a swim. This was Amaya's first time in the pool with her fixator. She loved it, but was hesitant to swim alone.

 

Amaya got a good bend on the total gym machine. 

Here she is giving Melissa a ride out. They got lots of smiles and giggles from the other therapists.

First time in the pool.

She wasn't quite ready to swim on her own, so she "rode on a polar bear." 

Saturday
  Amaya went swimming twice. She started swimming in the morning, and got the hang of it quick. Even though she knew how to swim, she had to learn how to swim with a fixator weighing her down. She tried to kick the left leg, but it didn't seem to move much. Her gauze came off after being in the water for a few minutes. As she swam across to dad she would say, "again daddy!" She said it was easy swimming with the fixator on. We had to wash her pins sites after each swim and reapply gauze. Her pain was under control all day and she didn't need any pain meds. She swam again in the evening and was tired. After she was in bed for awhile we realized that we forgot to lock her bar in and wrap her ankle in a towel (the first time in four months). Her knee was so bent and I hated to bother her, but I knew that since it was bent it needed to be straightened for the night. She moaned out in pain, which was sad.

At first she had dad spot her as she swam.

First solo swim!

Thankfully, they had a chair we could use in the shower to bathe Amaya. 

Here's what her pin sites looked like after swiming. do't they look great? Dr.Nelson told us that swimming in a pool and in the ocean is great for pin sites and helps fight infection. The only thing they don't recommend is swimming in lakes or rivers because of bacteria.

Josh and the girls sharing videos with Aunt Patty and cousin Alexis.

During a game of hide-and seek they had a hard time finding Amaya. She managed to squeeze herself under that table.

Sunday

     In the morning as Amaya got in the pool one of her gauze stuck in her middle pins. It took about five to ten minutes for it to come loose. It was weird because there wasn't any scab for the gauze to stick to. The gauze got pushed in between the skin and the pin. As it pulled it started to bleed a little. We started pushing water on it, like little waves, which helped it come off. By Sunday we could see a big improvement in Amaya's swimming, she was swimming across the pool often. She did more swimming before we left in the evening. She did great on the car ride home, she was so tired she slept most of the way. She woke up just before we got home with some knee pain, but did fine once I massaged it. All in all we had a great trip visiting the Campbell's. It's always nice visiting family when you can have some calm relaxing time. It was nice to visit, and we hope to return again this Summer when we can stay longer (we had to return for therapy today). I did miss blogging these past couple of days and kept feeling like I was forgetting something.

Cuddling on the couch.

By the time we left Amaya was swimming the length of the pool, under and above water. She did great! It'll be nice when she starts her lessons next month so that she can work on her breathing. By then her left knee should have more bend to it and she'll be able to use it to kick with.