Another thing that stuck out to me in her email was that she told Amaya that she's now a part of a "special club of 'fixator kids.'" Alison said that one day other kids will look up to Amaya and she will be able to help them like Alison has helped her. Perhaps that's the best way to pay her back, by extending that help, kindness and information to another child. Amaya has already been willing to share her fixator with other kids and help in any way possible. Hopefully our blog can offer some help to other families who will be living with a fixator.
The girls enjoyed the long four day weekend. We celebrated my grandfather's eighty-eight birthday on Saturday, then helped friends move on Saturday, then visited with an old friend on Monday. Sunday and Monday I had allergies/cold and slept a lot. I'm still a bit "foggy" headed so please excuse any typo's. The antibiotic started upsetting Amaya's tummy again. It's one of the side affects of the antibiotic, so we're dealing with it as best we can. She still has six more days to go, but at least her bottom pin is looking much better. Her knee pain has subsided quite a bit and she's been able to sleep a bit better. She still stirs and moan a bit at night, but not as bad as last week. She isn't needing pain meds, constant massages or crying and waking up. I'm so thankful for the rest we've both been able to get.
On the way to therapy I encouraged Amaya to do her best, work hard, to try and not say that she couldn't do something. She always does so much better when she says she'll try. I reminded her that after missing four days of therapy her knee would be tight and that she needed to work harder to get to ninety degrees. She wore the ankle weight on the drive over.
When we got to therapy we sat in the lobby and waited for Melissa. As soon as we sat down I heard a mother tell her daughter that this place was for sick kids (I think she meant disabled. It was lost in translation) then she pointed at Amaya. She told her that she was fine but "see that girl she's sick and needs to be here" again she pointed at Amaya. Although I didn't appreciate her pointing at Amaya, talking about her with pity and judgment I just looked at the woman, then her child (who was wearing leg braces and was there for therapy), and decided to just smile and be the bigger person. Ugh. It's so frustrating to encounter such ignorant people. Its ironic that we've encountered several there in the lobby of therapy. It did hurt my feelings and I can't help but want to protect Amaya from such cruelty. But that encounter led me to a wonderful conversation with an old friend, Christina. I'm grateful for Christina's kindness, and encouragement. She sees Amaya's beauty and strength. And I know she's not alone. For one ignorant person there are many of you out there that see Amaya beyond her fixator and beyond a label of PFFD or disabled. And for that I thank you.
When we went back Melissa put new tape on Amaya's knee before she started working. She had a good day; listening, following directions and trying her best. When it was tie for bends Melissa asked what her goal was for bends. She said ninety-one or ninety-two. Melissa reminded her to keep going and get it over with soon. Amaya did fantastic! She got to eighty degrees in less than two minutes. She continued to push hard. She was able to get to ninety-two degrees in less than four minutes! That's exceptional for the start of a week, especially after a long weekend!
Amaya started the day by climbing up and down the ladder five times.
Then Melissa had her bend her knee and bend down to pick up a ball, then she'd stand with her leg bent to throw the ball into the ball pit.
Amaya rode the bike on the small loop and into the adult gym to work on the total gym machine. This is a quick clip but you can see how fast she was able to get to a fast speed. She rode so fast today!
Amaya worked on the total gym machine and was able to get her knee to bend to fifty-five degrees.
Then Melissa had Amaya lay on her tummy while she stretched her knee by pulling her leg back.
Here's a picture of our fixator friend, Alison. I wanted to share her smile with all of you. She sent this photo to show Amaya what her pin sites looked like nine months after her fixators
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