Making improvements already

Amanda is really enjoying her AcquireC therapy. She really doesn't mind the cast. It is a nice weapon to knock people with and it makes a lot of noise when she smacks it against her high chair or other objects. She has been in a great mood. She has 1 or 2 therapists at a time entertaining her 6 hours per day, so she thinks that is neat. She doesn't mind the hard work at all because the reward is playtime, songs, new sensations, new noises etc. The therapists, (who are wonderful with her) Dory & Mary Rebekah, are working on all sorts of things from fine motor to gross motor to speech and educational skills. They use everything in the room from toys, to the couch, to drawers, lights, sinks, etc. to motivate her to move her right arm and hand. She has already made progress in just a few short days.

The night after her second day of therapy, she was laying in bed and had her eyes way up in her head. At first we were worried that she might be having a seizure, but then she busted out laughing. She thought it was pretty cool that she could look behind her and see the pretty headboard. She did this about six more times that night and laughed each time since she was so happy with her new skill. The therapists have been working hard to get her to look up and keep her head up and she is really improving. She has also actively reached out with her right hand and arm several times already. Everything they do with her encourages movement and use of her affected (weaker) side. Even when they leave, we use hand over hand feeding with her right arm to awaken those pathways in the brain and keep her thinking about that right side.

Both Dory and Mary Rebekah think Amanda has a lot of potential. That is exciting to hear. She definitely has a wonderful work ethic and is motivated to work hard and learn. Amanda is an amazing kid. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I will post more soon.

The Cast Goes On

Amanda got her cast today. She took it in stride and seems to have adjusted just beautifully. She is already making progress with her right arm, even after only one day of therapy. She yanked off her glasses tonight with her right hand. Yippee! She really likes her therapist Dory and warmed up to her quite quickly. She will have 6 hours of intensive occupational therapy per day (7:15-1:15) through Dec 21. This week she gets 6 days of therapy and then 5 days each of the next 3 weeks. She can still clap even with her arm in a cast and she loves to chew on it. She also likes to bang it really hard on her high chair tray. She has also been squealing like a Maccaw in our apartment. We are on the second floor of a 3 story building so I hope the neighbors are laid back.

Our new apartment is great. It is much cleaner and brighter and close to lots of nice things. It just goes to show that things always have a way of working out for the best. The personnel from the leasing agency were really nice about trying to get us fixed up today. So thanks to them for helping us out and fixing the situation.

We are looking forward to seeing all the changes in the next few weeks as Amanda rediscovers her right side. I will try to keep you posted daily on her progress. I will also post some pictures tomorrow of Amanda with her cast. Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. God Bless!
Susan

Arrival In Birmingham

Sorry for the late posting. The last few weeks were eventful with another kidney stone for Amanda and gall bladder surgery for me. We are both healed up now and doing great.

Amanda has some more big news. In addition to learning to get to a sitting position by herself, she is now clapping for herself when she does a good job at something. Her other big news, besides the really big news of her UAB Constraint Therapy, is that we are switching Amanda off of her Topamax (her anticonvulsant associated with kidney stones and onto a new medicine named Keppra). Thus far, we are up and Keppra to a therapeutic dose and coming down slowly off of Topamax. So far so good.

We arrived early today in Birmingham so that we could get ready for Amanda's therapy, which starts in the morning. Unfortunately, our $2200 per month apartment was filty and we are staying in a hotel tonight. We hope to get the situation fixed tomorrow. So much for planning ahead so we would get settled. However, that is minor in the whole scheme of life.

We are very much looking forward to Amanda's month of intensive therapy. She gets evaluated tomorrow, gets her cast, and starts therapy. She will have 6 hours of therapy 5-6 days per week for the whole month. We will be here until December 21 or 22. Hopefully, we will see lots of progress in the weeks ahead. I will keep you posted frequently on how things are going. These are exciting times ....