Maybe not the fastest, but certainly the toughest

     We started doing therapy stretches again this week. Since Amaya had complained that she was frustrated and disappointed with being "the slowest" at school I decided to start her therapy again. I pulled out her old therapy bands and started with a couple of stretches that I remembered off the top of my head. Its funny but once we started, I started remembering more stretches as we went along. Its funny I don't think I forgot any of the therapy work Melissa taught us. Melissa you're an excellent teacher! Thank you. 

    Amaya is awesome. When I told her that I wanted to start doing therapy stretches again she spent no time complaining or asking why. She simply said, "okay." And did her very best. She did everything I asked and has done stretches every day this week. She's so cool! One thing she knows is that therapy pays off. She's seen first hand how hard work pays off. And so have I. 

     It makes my job so much easier when she's willing, and cooperative. Each day I have her do a couple different stretches so that there's some variety. It takes only a few minutes a day, but I know that these few minutes will add up and help strengthen her muscles, help her to become stronger and improve her gait. One of our "fixator friends" Alison (who's now in college) wrote us to remind Amaya that she "may not be the fastest, but she's certainly the toughest at school." I wish you could have seen the smile on Amaya's face when I read that to her. Alison also gave us some suggestions that helped her when she was younger (like swimming). Amaya was happy to hear the suggestions and looks forward to trying them when it warms up. 

   I'm so grateful for Alison and all our fixator and PFFD friends. They make this journey so much easier. A big thank you to all our friends, your kindness, compassion and friendship help us get threw the tough moments. 

I used the bands (these are the ones she used at therapy and Melissa had given us to use at home) for resistance. You can see the tape on her heel in this picture. I tape her heel every morning before school. It helps cushion her heel and help the healing process along. 

While on her tummy she lifts her left leg off the ground ten times with a straight leg and ten with it bent. I usually hold her hips down so they don't lift off the ground, like they are in the picture. 

Here she is doing pelvic lifts. I have her do ten of these and on the last one hold it for as long as she can while squeezing her butt muscles. 

     Here's a current picture of her heel. Some of you have asked what it looks like now. Here it is. It's a bit dry so we add lotion to the area once a day. Its about the size of a quarter and looks like a blister, but without any liquid in it. Its mushy to the touch, but doesn't hurt her when we touch it. Although it is sensitive.