Mom's night out

     Thursday night I went to meet up with the moms from the PossAbilities group. They meet once a month for a mom's night out (MNO). I had been looking forward to it since I was invited back at the PossAbilities swim party. I was a bit nervous to meet new people and to be the new one there, but was quickly welcomed and felt comfortable. I got to meet and talk to many moms who asked about my girls, were empathetic, kind and supportive. It was nice to learn so much about all of them, their children. Each one has their own set of challenges, trials and triumphs. I learned a lot and am encouraged by their love for their children, their dedication, their strength and courage. It was so nice to share about Amaya and her struggles, challenges and triumphs. Its funny because I always carry pictures of her x-rays along with pictures of both girls with me to share. The other moms were encouraging, empathetic and had kind words to say about Amaya. I look forward to the next meeting and to continuing to develop friendships with these ladies. The only bad thing about the night was that when I got home the girls were still up. Amaya asked me to rub her foot and Lidie cried until she fell asleep. Amaya had some knee pain and didn't fall asleep until almost ten. Thankfully she slept for the rest of the night, but I worried if she would be tired for therapy the next morning.
      When we saw Melissa Friday morning she said that she looked up Amaya's x-ray on Monday afternoon before she left work. She asked how our appointment with Dr. Nelson went so we updater her. I appreciate her care and concern for Amaya. She started by re-taping Amaya's knee. Although it doesn't completely remove the pain it does help a great deal, especially since she's been taping it up hire up on Amaya's  knee.

Amaya rode the bike down the hall, up the hill, back and half of the big loop. She did a good job keeping up her momentum. 

When she got back into the gym Melissa had her do some bends on the trampoline. Then she had her jump on the trampoline. It's kind of funny and sad to see her try to jump. She thought she was bending  with both legs and jumping. You can see that she had a hard time bending the left one. It took help from Melissa, concentration and determination, but she did get a bit better.

     Next she rode the scooter to the adult gym o use the total gym. Melissa had her bend with both legs first then with the left one only. Toward the end Amaya was having a hard time concentrating and keeping her focus. I hate when she doesn't cooperate and makes Melissa's job more difficult. Although she has been doing this for months now and was tired, but being rude to therapists is never okay. 

     After that it was time to start bends. Her starting measurement was 59. We talked about making a goal for bends today. She decided on 91 since that's what she had on Monday. I challenged her to do it under three minutes. If she did she would earn a push pop. She followed Melissa's lead and did great. Within a minute she was up to 80. What a huge improvement since Wednesday. Then she started crying and whining and saying she couldn't bend anymore. Melissa kept telling her that she could, to push hard, to not give up, to concentrate, etc. Amaya responds to Melissa when she does it, but when I do it she doesn't appreciate it and gets upset. I'm so thankful for the relationship between them. Melissa kept on pushing and Amaya was able to get to 92! Melissa confessed, "I pushed you hard." But Amaya didn't seem mean to mind. On the way out Amaya thanked Melissa for pushing her so hard. 

   On the ride to school I talked with Amaya about doing her best, and not psyching her self out. I told her that she can do it, she has to do it, has done it, and will do it. I told her that her negative talk works against her. I challenged her to not whine, complain or say she cant bend anymore all of next week and to see what the difference would be. She said she'd give it a try. Then reminded herself that her goal was to get back to 110 degrees before the fixator came off. The highest she's gotten is 106, so hopefully her new focus will help her. She asked if she could earn a treat (pick something from the dollar section at target) each time she does great at therapy. I agreed, since a little motivation seems to help her a lot. After almost six months of therapy she's getting a bit worn out. I can't say that I blame her. So I'm willing to do what it takes to keep her motivated and doing her best. Wish us luck.

Here's a picture Josh took of us at our appointment on Monday.