Glimpses of Progress!

Yesterday our sessions were at 11:00 and 2:00. During the morning session Emily "walked" up and down the halls of the patient floor. There is only one floor of inpatient beds and it only has a capacity of 38. Walking on this floor gives her an opportunity to interact with other children and the staff which distracts from the work she has to do. The morning session went very smoothly. She "walked" for nearly an hour (and mom is feeling it today... in my hands, arms, back, and legs) Following the morning session we headed back to the van for our picnic lunch, the watching of Little People and an attempted (a tractor felt the need to do laps in the parking structure while we were trying to sleep)nap. Needless to say... there wasn't much rest to be had.

The afternoon session got off to a rough start due to our failed attempt at a nap. We got Emmy into her braces and she immediately signed "all done" and began to cry. I told her I would be first to help her walk and that seemed to smooth things over. So off we went. Back to the patient floor for more laps. Emily's PT, her PT intern and I took turns walking her for 45 minutes. Then it was back to the gym (Rehab Room) for some balancing work. He has her put one foot on a wood beam and then the other is suspended above the floor. This enables her arms to do the necessary work to help with balance.

Several times during both sessions she "helped" do the work. Sometimes moving her leg backward an inch and others times pivoting back and forth on her heels. I am learning to hold on to those little glimpses of progress. They help me to see the bigger picture in all of this.