A Long 3 Weeks

We finished our three weeks of intensive physical therapy at Now I Can in Provo, and it really was a long three weeks. When you spend 4 hours of day in therapy for 5 days a week for 3 weeks, that is a long 60 hours. And then you tack on at least 3 hours a day of commuting. Whew! I am tired!

 

Overall, we were happy with the therapy that Brynlee had these past three weeks. Would it have been extremely exciting to have significant improvements at the end of the three weeks? Absolutely! Were we expecting a huge change? No. However, we did gain some valuable knowledge for what we need to do and should be doing with Brynlee at home. I know that Brynlee is stronger, and I know that if we keep working with Brynlee and help her with her home exercise program that we can get closer to the ultimate goal of having her walk and be independently mobile.

 

Brynlee did not like very much about therapy. It was hard work, and I wish she could only understand a little bit better how much she will benefit from all that she is going through. Hopefully as she gets older and can understand things better, it will be easier for her.

 

Brynlee's report card included the following:

Ambulation: Beginning - able to be facilitated with walker. Ending - Able to push up to be facilitated in swing through gait, increased initiation of swing through.

Static Quadruped (all fours):  Beginning - 15 seconds. Ending - 30 seconds.

Maintain static sitting: Beginning - 20 seconds. Ending - 2 minutes independently with 2 hands dynamic reaching.

Modified planigrade standing: Beginning - 4 seconds independently. Ending - 50 seconds independently.

Stand with walker wearing knee immobilizers: Beginning - 5 seconds. Ending - 20 seconds.

 

One of her accomplishments from the session that we could easily see was getting her to hold onto the walker. At the beginning of our three-week session, she would not hold onto the walker for more than 2 seconds and would scream her displeasure with the contraption. Afterall, this was her first introduction to the walker, and she didn't understand its purpose. By the end of the second week, she did such a good job of holding onto the walker and trying to stand up to it and she would walk (with some help getting her legs to move, of course) with the walker.

 

 

We are very grateful for this opportunity that we have had to take Brynlee to this type of a therapy program, and we hope to have the opportunity to return in the summer for another session if we can make that happen.