A week without a fixator

   Its been a week since Amaya's fixator was removed. It's been a bit of a blur. It's gone by so quickly. I'm still trying to process it all. I'm amazed and overwhelmed by the past seven and a half months. I'm a bit speechless right now, but hopefully I can find the words to share with you soon. A week without a fixator has brought some much needed relief to us all. We're so happy with the progress Amaya has made in such a short amount of time. She's walking (with her walker), gone back to school, is eating more, her wounds are healing nicely and she's doing her stretches regularly. I'm enjoying things like; no gauze changing, peaceful showers, a pain free daughter, and easy restful nights (actually we're all enjoying these). I'm grateful for all of these things and feel a bit spoiled by things that most people take for granted.
   Amaya's pain has lessened even more and she's only asking for pain medication once or twice a day (usually first thing in the morning and before bed). She' still a bit wobbly when she walks, but she's continuing to practice with and without her walker. She still has some stiffness in her knee, but her stretches are helping. Yesterday Melissa, Amaya's physical therapist, called to check in on her. She was happy to hear how well Amaya was doing. I was touched that Melissa took the time to call and check in on Amaya. That just shows you how thoughtful and kind she is. I mentioned to her the stiffness Amaya has been feeling in her knee and how difficult it is to straighten her knee. She said that walking and doing the stretches she recommended will help Amaya's muscles loosen up. She said walking will help the most. I thanked her for her advice, for calling and passed the message onto Amaya. Amaya was surprised and happy that she called.
    Thank you all for your continued love and support. As I have some free time I often think of the hard times that we've been through. Its a lot easier to process them now that we've moved past that phase. To those of you who lessened our load, who sent us your love and support, who cheered us on, who were patient with us we're grateful to you all. This has been such an incredibly challenging year for our family and we've managed to get by. Thank you all.

     Yesterday I took the girls for frozen yogurt to celebrate a week without a fixator. We also celebrated another good report card and conference for Amaya. Even though she missed fifteen days of school and had fourteen days that she missed part of the day to go to physical therapy she still got all E's (excellent) and G's (good) on her report card. Her teacher also said that she's above grade level on all areas. Sorry, for bragging a bit, but I'm very proud of Amaya. She had a lot on her plate these past few months and still managed to work hard and excel at school. 

Lidie's smile, isn't it contagious?