Thursday, August 13, 2009

Still getting used to it...

We recently took the steps necessary to get one of these: And I have to be honest; it feels rather strange. And it has made a very positive difference on the ease in which I can now do appointments with K. Especially now - with the ever growing belly. I would always get in trouble when I carried K (either form Dave or his mom...) :) - but there were times I just had to. Sometimes we could take a stroller with us, but the ones we have are pretty big and bulky - kind of hard to get in and out of the van. The smaller strollers are much too small for him now. We tried to encourage him to walk with his walker as much as possible, but his ankle braces were getting too tight and walking long distances in parking lots would get very hard for him. His feet would start to hurt and he would fatigue and beg to be carried. It's been so hard for me to say no to him - but for about a month and a half now I have not carried his 45 pound growing body at all. I only lift him to get him in and out of his car seat. So - all that to say that the the handicapped placard, as unfamiliar and strange as it may seem for a while, has been wonderful to have! We can now park close by entrances when K is with us and he is able to walk in with ease. Today K and I had some special mommy son bonding time. We took an hour drive to go get him fitted for new dynamic ankle and foot orthodics (DAFO's - otherwise known as ankle braces). He has been growing by leaps and bounds (kinda like his mommy) and as I mentioned before, has quite outgrown his old ones. Of all the procedures he has been through one would think that having wet netting/webbing wrapped around his foot, waiting for it to dry and harden, then getting it gently cut off would be a walk in the park. Nope, if one thought that, one would be wrong. You would've thought the child was being tortured the way he carried on. Or that some one was taking his wash cloth away or something. Or that some one gave him a wash cloth with out words on the tag. But no, it was just a DAFO fitting. First. the fun part! Getting to pick the design on the strap and the padding and Velcro colors. He definitely has his mommy's love for creativity and design! He ended up choosing an "ABC" design with coordinating red and navy blue straps. :)
And then the part that he "doesn't love!!" (in his words). Every one was very patient with him and we all made it through the traumatizing ordeal. A very exciting thing about the new DAFO's is that they will now be "articulating" - meaning they will hinge at his ankle, giving him more freedom towards independent walking. This is a new thing. All of the other DAFO's he has had were kind of limiting on progressing much with his independent walking, because their purpose was to force his foot into the correct position due to muscle tone issues. Now that his tone is improving he gets a little bit less restriction in his braces. I'm really excited to see if this makes a difference for him and his walking! We get to pick them up in 3 weeks.
Geez, this kid has been through alot. He may contest some of the poking and prodding he must undergo, but for the most part he is so brave. So courageous. So determined. You already know this, but I learn so much from him. He is such a treasure!
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7 comments:

Rach@In His Hands said...

A treasure indeed!

BaronessBlack said...

What a honey!
I can't believe you didn't get a disability parking permit from day one!
And can you explain to me the fuss about the potential health care reforms? To us in Europe with National Health Care systems it's like people in the US are turning down free money! I just don't understand it!
Lovely photo of K with the colour switches!

Penny said...

I hope you and K have a wonderful day today. Good color choice on his part, too! =)

Amanda said...

what an amazing little guy...and what a lesson in determination...and, by the way...you might have brightened my day beyond belief with a certain manila envelope that arrived in the mail. thank you dearest wendi...we LOVE it! :)

Unknown said...

Sweet boy.

Jackie said...

I am so glad you got this and that it is making life a little easier for you! K is so brave, and I don't blame him one bit for "not loving" that part (I love his choice of words there!). I'm also very excited to see if this makes a difference in his walking - you'll have to let us know!

Heather of the EO said...

Yes, a treasure. That's for sure.

You are both so courageous.