4 Months: Looking Forward

On March 25, Andrew was officially 4 months post-SDR. It's been CRAZY how much he has changed and improved in the last 4 months. He is definitely becoming more confident with his newfound abilities and is trying lots of new things. However, the 5+ days a week of physical therapy is starting to wear on him. The last 2 weeks, we have had a lot of tears and anger over the fact that he has therapy and can't just play and relax after school. Unfortunately, this schedule isn't going to let up anytime soon and we are right smack in the middle of the process of getting him strong so that his next surgery, scheduled on April 7th, doesn't set him back too far.

Even though he didn't want to be at therapy these two weeks, he overall did fantastically at the majority of his sessions. He is really starting to see the results of all of his strengthening. He can stand independently for longer everyday. He can even stand for a short time without his braces (AFOs) on, which is something that was completely impossible for him before SDR. He is not supposed to be doing that a lot since his feet don't stay in the correct position while doing it, but the few times that he has, it has been awesome to see.

Andrew is standing for longer and longer.

New things these last 2 weeks:

• Is more consistently taking 2 independent steps in a row.
• Can stand up from the middle of the floor with minimal or no support, but with spotting for when he loses his balance.

• He can now walk forward, sideways and backwards in tall-kneel without support, which is something that he really really struggled with even a week ago. He still need practice for mastery, but he is ABLE to do it which is huge.
• Standing far more often while only holding on to his walker with only one hand. The hand is used more for balance than anything else. The strength is there, but not quite the balance.
• Get into "criss-cross-applesauce" position easily... and choosing that position over w-sitting or side-sitting.
• He is walking through his transitions from one piece of furniture to another (kitchen table to computer chair, desk to another desk across an open space) by holding one hand on one piece, taking 1-2 step until he can reach the other with his other hand.

• Climbing... Andrew has always been a great climber, but he used to use upper body strength and his knees. Lately, I have "caught" him using his feet to climb instead.
• Running!! It reminds me a little of the movie Forrest Gump. Once Forrest was able to run, that's what he did. Well, Andrew is able to run in his walker now and THAT is what he is doing. 
• Dribble the ball in soccer. He now has enough control with his feet that he is making progress with dribbling the ball down the field while using his walker. 

• Overall, he is taking far less breaks and walking far further distances than he was even a month ago. 

Now comes the next phase in Andrew's journey toward walking. On April 7th, we are traveling back to St. Louis for him to have PERCS. PERCS is a lengthening procedure similar to the one that he had 2 years ago, but it is less invasive and hopefully less painful. Andrew is nervous since he remembers his last hamstring lengthening, but is overall handling it all really well. This surgery should hopefully push him to the next level with regards to his ability and allow him to get his knees completely straight and his heels flat on the floor. 

Please pray for our safe travels (we are making the almost 13 hour drive instead of flying), safe surgery and recovery, and for everyone involved in his care. 

Sledding With CP... A Lesson In Not Limiting Independence

Andrew wants to be independent in just about everything he does. Even though he doesn't walk without assistance, he can crawl up stairs, climb on chairs and counters to access things, independently take a shower, play on playgrounds including inflatable bounce houses and slides, get his own drink, get dressed by himself... the list goes on and on. There are limits to what he can do independently because of his cerebral palsy, but he is constantly pushing the boundaries so he can do more. He wants complete independence with a type of fierceness that I have not witnessed before.

We recently had a snow day. Here in the south, they are few and far between and it is an exciting time for my kids (and the grown-ups too). We have snow pants, boots, gloves and sleds even though we only use them for a day or two every year. You would think that Andrew's  mobility issues would limit him tremendously in the snow. Although he cannot use his walker or wheelchair, he CAN crawl and has always done so during snow play so that he can have that independence.

Crawling through the snow toward the top of a small hill.
His brother decided to crawl with him.

Because of his direct contact with the cold, I make sure he has higher quality snow pants, boots that cinch tightly around his feet, snow gloves that fit well and cinch around his wrists, and layer him up like crazy. He is usually the first to want to go outside to play, but is also the first to want to go inside because he gets cold quickly. However, with his determination and a little creative thinking on my part, he is still able to be like any other kid and do the things in the snow that HE wants to do without Mommy or Daddy carrying him around.

Andrew, age 4, building a snowman with his brother.

Before this year, sledding was something he could not do on his own. It was virtually impossible for him to drag a sled up the hill while covered in snow and ice, get on it, and get it going. However, our other two kids couldn't quite do it independently either, so it didn't really matter for him that we put him on the sled and dragged him up the hill and then got him going. He still got to sled and participate with everyone else. That's what mattered to him.

Daddy and Mommy have spent countless hours dragging kids up hills on sleds.

This year, however, both of my other children figured out how to get the sleds going by themselves and were perfectly capable of dragging them up hills. So, Andrew decided that he was going to be independent with it as well. As much as the mom in me was thinking of all of the difficulties and "impossibilities" that he was likely to face, I remained supportive and allowed him to try. He was able to put the rope in his hand and drag the sled up the smaller hills while crawling. This impressed me, but not nearly as much as when he got his slippery, snow and ice covered self onto the plastic sled, and then used his arms to get himself going. He soon learned that he needed to position himself to the back of the sled instead of the front, but he basically spent all of the snow day sledding down the hills on his own. It was a little bittersweet for Mommy that day since I no longer had to help my kids in the snow and could just sit, watch and take pictures. But, then, I grabbed a sled and joined in on the fun.

Andrew's first attempt at setting himself up on the sled and getting it going on his own.

Andrew has taught me to not limit his independence by pre-conceived notion of his abilities. He can and will achieve anything, even if it means that he has to do it a little differently than most kid.