Yesterday she had therapy with Jay. She had an hour long session with him. Normally he sees her for thirty minutes, but its never quite enough to get her knee to bend to ninety degrees. So when I booked her appointments a few weeks ago I asked for a longer session.
Jay had her start with the bicycle. She rode down the hall, up the hill then back.
Then she rode down the hall, up the hill and back on the bi-scooter. When she got back in the gym she did some lunges and bends.
Next she worked on the total gym machine. I mean worked! Jay had her do sets of thirty. She did some bends with both legs then some with only the left (which are harder). Then Jay had her hold her leg in a bend for the count of thirty. Then he had her leg bent and would use to mat that she lays on to move it closer so that her knee bent more. It was getting a great bend, but hurt. After she finished a set of thirty, he would say, "one more." Amaya, even though she was in pain, would say okay and start right up. As you can tell in the video she was tired, in pain and working hard. But she never complained or whined or gave up. She was amazing!
As she was working one of the other therapists came over to say hello and asked how she was doing. He said that she looked good and then complimented the tape job on her knee. Each time we're there I see so many therapists smile at Amaya and encourage her. I'm so grateful for the loving environment that all the therapists have created there. After going for almost six months I feel like we know many of them.
When we got back into the gym Jay stretched Amaya's knee as she leaned against the drum. That's what Jay called it. Amaya asked, "isn't this a cylinder?" Her kindergarten teacher would be proud.
After the stretches we started her bends. It's always a little different when we do bends with someone besides Melissa. Amaya and her have set up a routine and system that works for them. Her starting knee measurement was fifty five. When Jay asked her to start, she didn't really do anything. She didn't bend or pull or anything. She got to sixty and stayed there, for a couple of minutes. I started to ask her to do the stuff that Melissa usually does (bend, pull, move her foot back,etc.). But she didn't like me doing that and was getting frustrated, and rude. She started telling me no and saying she couldn't do it, crying, saying she was tired. It was frustrating. Lidie decided to get whiny at the same moment, so I had to handle both of the girls at once. Jay tried to get Amaya to stay calm and to start bending. She fought it and kept whining and crying, saying she couldn't bend anymore, hitting me and telling me to leave her alone. I wasn't sure if she was tired from the extra fifteen minutes of therapy (she normally does forty five minute sessions with Melissa) or thrown off from not having Melissa to help her. She finally started bending but kept whining and complaining. It was so frustrating and nerve racking. I told her she had to get at least ninety degrees and to keep going. Sure enough she got up to ninety fairly quickly once she put her mind to it. She complained that her knee hurt, so Jay rubbed it and stretched her leg for her.
On the way out to the car I talked to her about her behavior during bends. I knew better than to try to do it while she was doing her bends. As soon as I asked her about what happened she said, "I was mean." She knew she was wrong, but she also though she was justified because I was "trying to help her." She said, "I don't want any support." Ugh. I just had to take a deep breath and give her space. It's not always easy to parent. Some days it seems like its extra difficult to parent when your child is wearing a fixator, especially during/after therapy.
By the time we go to school she was back to her normal self. I reminded her to ask her teacher if she needed any pain medication, especially since she worked so hard at therapy. She said she didn't want to bother the class or her teacher. I reminded her that her teacher wants what's best for her and wouldn't mind if she asked for medication. She also said she hasn't asked to use her pillow to prop up her fixatorAmaya to her. She confirmed that Amaya could use her pillow and ask for pain medication whenever she needs. I knew she would, but she said she would talk to Amaya. I'm so thankful that Ms.Gillespie is so kind and cares about Amaya's well being. When I picked up Amaya she said that her teacher talked to her and that after her test she asked for pain medication. I'm so glad Ms. Gillespie talked to Amaya and that Amaya asked for medication when she needed it. I wonder if there were other days when Amaya needed pain medication but didn't ask for it. Hopefully now she knows that she can always ask for what she needs to be comfortable.
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