Today's therapy was at ten a.m. so we had to get ready pretty early. Once we go to therapy we had a few minutes so we listened to Eye of the Tiger (Amaya is still hoping to get to 110 and thinks the song will help). I reminded her that after missing Wednesday and yesterdays shorter session she should just focus on doing her best and be proud of that, regardless of what number that is. She agreed, but still said 110 would be her goal. Once we got in we had to reschedule a couple of appointments that we'll be missing later in the month when we go beach camping. Once we got back in with Melissa she put new tape on Amaya's knee, then had Amaya ride the bike, bend, do some lunges and then massaged her knee. Melissa said that she could tell Amaya's knee was very stiff today. Amaya told Melissa her goal was 110 and Melissa was careful not to discourage Amaya but give her a realistic goal. She reminded her that after missing a day and then not being able to get past seventy yesterday that she would be surprised if Amaya got 110. That plus her tight knee wasn't helping either. Amaya's knee measured in the 40's at first, but with a small push Amaya got in the 50's (which is where were we started yesterday). Then she began her pushes and pulls. In a few minutes she was past 70 which made her happy. After about sixty pulls Amaya was able to get to 94. It wasn't the 110 that Amaya hoped for, but Melissa was very happy with the 24 degree gain since yesterday. She's always good about keeping things positive and encouraging Amaya. And 94 is still really good for this point in time (five weeks post lengthening). It's funny how things change day to day. I asked Melissa if maybe keeping therapy at five days a week would still be beneficial. She didn't decide, but said we'd look at how Amaya does next week. Next week we have a full week of therapy. As much as I'd love a day off from therapy, It's important to do what's best for Amaya, even if that means keeping therapy at five days a week for a little while longer. This month we'll be missing a few days due to some family trips we'll be taking before Amaya starts her next school year. Melissa said that doing our homework would help a lot especially with the stiffness and tightness in the knee. We made sure to do it tonight and will do it over the weekend as well. We did stretches, work with the band, massages, stretched the hip, did lunges, wore the ankle weight, and did knee bends.
Amaya cleaning her knee before applying new tape.
Melissa applying new tape to Amaya's knee.
The girls riding bikes down the hall. Melissa asked Amaya if she wanted to do the big loop, but Amaya said she'd rather go up the hill. So she went down the hall, up the hill, back down the hall and through the adult gym. She did well pedaling and didn't complain of too much pain.
Amaya rode up the hill then Melissa had her keep her feet on the pedals so that her
knees would bend as she rode down the hill.
Lidie was busy today building the Eiffel tower for her cars to drive thru. It's neat to see her creativity each day.
Amaya did some lunges and bends.
Melissa had Amaya get into the ball pit while Melissa bent her knee for her. Melissa said that Amaya's knee was stiff so after a few bends she got her out and massaged her knee to help her muscles relax.
Here's a close up of her in the balls. You could barely see her, she kept sinking in.
Melissa doing Amaya's starting measurement before starting her bends.
Here's some audio I took of Amaya during her last ten pulls/bends today. You can hear her pain and determination as she counts along. I've been meaning to do this for quite some time and just haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully this helps paint a better picture of what the bends are like, at least a few seconds of it. I'm not able to videotape it because I'm in front of her holding down the bench that she's using to pull herself down with. Plus, I'm not sure she'd appreciate a camera on her while she's in pain.
At home Amaya put on a show for me. She said the fixator helped her do the robot, so I asked her to show me. Here she is. Also, her and dad have been writing a song about her leg, Dr. Nelson and her fixator that I'm hoping to record soon and share with you all. Thanks again for being a part of our daily lives and for all your love, help and support.
No comments:
Post a Comment