Physical therapy tree

Today at therapy Amaya rode the bike down a hallway that we hardly ever go down. We passed a bulletin board and I saw this picture. It caught my eye so I went back to look at it. Something about it struck me. I instantly loved it. I wasn't sure why, but I did. As I looked closely I noticed it was called the physical therapy tree. That made perfect sense. And I knew in that instant why I loved it.  

This is why I loved that tree so much. I know this picture is a bit blurry, but you can clearly see how Melissa helps hold up Amaya. The tree reminded me of Melissa and Jay, and Jeremy and Cassie and all the other therapists that help Amaya. They are her tree, her rope. They guide her, teach her, inspire her, 

redirect her, and retrain her. She has come such a long way and gotten through so much with their help. I am grateful to them for all of their help.
     At therapy Melissa put new tape on Amaya's knee, had her ride the bi-scooter, then the bike, then do some squats on the total gym machine. My camera was full so I only had room for a couple photos today. When Amaya started her bends she was in the fifties. She quickly got up to ninety-one. She was so excited that this was one of her last physical therapy sessions with her fixator on.
    While Amaya was riding her bike we ran into Dr. Jaeger. He is one of Dr. Nelson's residents. We haven't seen him in awhile and often wonder how he and his family are doing. He was there when Amaya's fixator was put on, and he's the one who changed her bandage on her hip for the first time in the hospital, and he's the one who locked her fixator in place after we stopped lengthening. It was so nice to see him. He asked how Amaya was doing and I updated him with her progress. He's busy with his program and we wish him well.
    Melissa let us know that after her session on Monday she'll close out Amaya's treatment and cancel all scheduled appointments.  I asked when she thought we might see her again. She said it's up to Dr. Nelson. Sometimes its one or two months before therapy re-starts. I reminded her that Amaya will be having the rush rod put in her femur. She said that that will help Amaya become mobile more quickly, but she still needs some time for the holes in her leg to heal. She'll have six holes in her femur, from where the pins are now. And three in her tibia. She said the rush rod will help give support to the femur, similar to how the fixator does now, but there won't be anything supporting the tibia. I had forgotten about the three pins in the tibia. I was counting on the rush rod giving support to her whole leg, but its only for the femur. We'll as much as I want to know all that will happen its a wait and see situation. I won't know until Amaya comes out of surgery what Dr. Nelson was able to do and what to expect next. Waiting is never easy or fun.
     Today, Amaya was much more excited for the removal. She realized that she can start wearing pants again and she was very happy about that. Have you ever been happy that you get to wear pants? Well, she is. After living in skirts and dresses for over six months she's ready for pants (especially since the weather is cooling down). She started singing songs about how happy she was that it was coming off, but there was always the mention of how nervous she is. It's not a one dimensional feeling of joy and excitement. There's a flip side to it that we are feeling and dealing with. She also started brainstorming what she wants to do with her fixator once it comes off (if we get to keep it). She talked about putting it on her dolls, making a wind chime out of it, and taking it trick or treating with her. She said she'll show it off as she knocks on doors (she's still planning to be dressed as an orthopedic surgeon) and telling people thats she's there to put it on them.