More PT

Well, this afternoon's PT was interesting. There was no Tylenol and no Valium, but we arrived armed with a syringe full of Benadryl because the incision has been itchy for her, and she is obsessing over it. That last thing we need is a big scab on her back.

She was still loopy, not as much, but clearly the weakness revealed by the surgery was in it's earliest, purest form. She can sit up nice and straight with a straight head, but likes to llllleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaannnnnnnnnn back, so you can't leave her alone to sit on a bench. She had a choice to do many things today, but she chose to ride a bike first. So we put the orthotics and running shoes on for the first time since before surgery.

That was amazing. No more coaxing of the ankle to bend, or bending at the knee to 90', in order to get the foot to rest completely down into the orthotic. The challenge I had was to keep her leg stable as I held her foot and orthotic. Her legs tend to want to fall open now, like frog legs. I guess that reflects the release that has occurred in her abductors. We will be keeping with the same orthotics. Some children don't like their orthotics after surgery because of foot sensitivity, but Fiona had no adverse reaction at all.

So she went for a ride on the bike, and we actually tested her ability to pedal herself. Once the foot came up to the crest of the rotation, she was able to use the momentum to push through and around. She could do a couple of pedals herself, before needed several pushes from the PT. Just as before, one side was stronger than the other. It seemed like the left side is stronger, even though it is/was more heavily affected by the tone and in-toeing. When I watched her pedaling from in front of the bike, I could see the right leg being better aligned to make a good pedaling movement, but she was actually using her left more, yet her left had a tendency to fall outward more. I have no idea what this all means in terms of strength and tone (a lot of ideas whirling around in my head), so I guess we will begin to fit the puzzle pieces together as the weeks and months go on.

From there, she chose to swing on a platform swing of all things! Not in a long-sit or anything, that would be too hard on the back at this point, but Beth placed a chair on the swing, with a block for support under her feet so that they did not dangle. I expected to see that "oh, my gosh, this roller coaster is making me sick" look on her face, but it never came.

In fact, I have to say that there have been some subtle sensory changes since the operation. Ex. They gave her a bath a couple of days ago, and before I had a chance to intercept, smeared a bunch of baby lotion on her. She barely reacted to either the sliminess or the strong powdery smell. After a couple of days of it, even I was getting nauseous. Then there was the swinging today.

The best part of swinging actually, was that we WALKED to get there. Now, the way we walked was I was in front of her holding both hands and knee-walking backward. Beth was behind her providing support at the hips, and the occasional tap on the hamstring to help with motor-planning. Fiona was advancing her legs on her own! She was kind of bent at the knees, but not a crouch, just weakness, and that darn left leg kept wanting to fall open, but otherwise, she was making full heel plants, with feet pointed straight ahead and completely reciprocal movement. Legs are moving very fluidly and separately. She was very happy, and at once point suggested she would do it herself (a memory from the past emerging). We had to put a stop to that one pretty quick.

After swinging, we went to sit on a bench to do a puzzle. She had to stand up and grab a piece from me holding it up in the air (we've seen this one before) or she had to reach in different directions while standing. "Standing" was kind of difficult. A little bent at the knees, difficult to sustain, and she was already trying to cheat, but that's no surprise.

So that was PT for today. By all accounts she is doing very well. We came back to the room for a hair-washing, which she complained more about. She is happily walking DVDs again, and I need lunch! (it's 4:30pm)

I have video of today's events, which I will attempt to post later. Only a few minutes here and there. Unfortunately, because I was helping, I couldn't video tape the walking, and that was the most exciting part.

I'm off to get food. Until later.