We've been so ecstatic to see Donovan on his feet again! It helps us to see our home light at the end of the tunnel and gets us closer to seeing the benefits of all that we've asked of him. Today during a team conference we set the target go home date as the 13th but we're optimistic it may be sooner.
It is a learning process and I think important to talk about particularly for anyone considering this venture.
We've tried to post video of Donovan's walking but apparently there is a blogspot bug right now. When we say he is walking, it means he is moving his own feet under his own strength using a walker but it is with assistance from his PT. What I see is that we can now clearly see the lack of strength, exactly what we expected, as he lifts his right foot. He's working hard on keeping his feet facing straight ahead and not crossing one foot in front of the other. Imagine the feeling of having your leg completely asleep and having your muscles acting just like they feel to you. This is what Donovan's gait looks like. We celebrate because we know Donovan and we know he won't accept this. He is working hard,as are the staff here at Mary Free Bed, to push himself... so important to his continued gains in strength, exactly what will wake that leg up.
So this is really what Dr. Skarli told us to expect, first a lack of tone and strength. What gave me chills today though was turning around and seeing Donovan having crossed one ankle over the opposite knee... something he has never been able to do before! For me this was the sure sign of decreased tone. I ran for my camera and stopped to tell everyone at the nurses station about Donovan's new found flexibility.
It is a learning process and I think important to talk about particularly for anyone considering this venture.
We've tried to post video of Donovan's walking but apparently there is a blogspot bug right now. When we say he is walking, it means he is moving his own feet under his own strength using a walker but it is with assistance from his PT. What I see is that we can now clearly see the lack of strength, exactly what we expected, as he lifts his right foot. He's working hard on keeping his feet facing straight ahead and not crossing one foot in front of the other. Imagine the feeling of having your leg completely asleep and having your muscles acting just like they feel to you. This is what Donovan's gait looks like. We celebrate because we know Donovan and we know he won't accept this. He is working hard,as are the staff here at Mary Free Bed, to push himself... so important to his continued gains in strength, exactly what will wake that leg up.
So this is really what Dr. Skarli told us to expect, first a lack of tone and strength. What gave me chills today though was turning around and seeing Donovan having crossed one ankle over the opposite knee... something he has never been able to do before! For me this was the sure sign of decreased tone. I ran for my camera and stopped to tell everyone at the nurses station about Donovan's new found flexibility.
2 comments:
yay Donovan! love the racing picture how cute is that?! and yeah, that is amazing to see the one leg crossed over the other.
Hi Bridget and family, this is Lynda Berge. I'm in London visiting my sister and her family. We're all rooting for you from across the pond!
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