Evelyn was back to therapy this morning after having the weekend off.  Today she had Jessica who was the first therapist she saw here.  Evie was a bit upset at the start of therapy but then Jessica had her involved right away as she got to help pick the activities for the session.  Jessica opened up a cupboard and on either side of the doors there were pictures of activities Evelyn could pick from (fine motor vs. gross motor).  They took turns picking a few activities (five in total) and if she completed them all with a positive attitude she could pick something from the treasure chest!

The first activity was the treadmill.  She walked in her casts for a few minutes, had a rest and then walked again for a few more minutes.  Next they played with the “squiggles.”  Evie had to stand and pull them off the window.  After that was the rocket ship for some more “blast offs” (squats on the Total Gym).  Next she played with the frogs.  She had to sit to pick up a frog and then stand to throw it in the basket.  Ev had to do a lot of walking back and forth all session so they ran out of time for the bike but she was okay with that since she was still allowed a prize!  Her confidence is growing when it comes to walking with her casts.

Once we were back at the hotel the rain started.  It poured all afternoon!  A very dull day.  When Wes napped Oma, Opa and Ev watched Tangled.  Ev wore her knee immobilizers to help get an extra long stretch in as they prevent her from bending her knee.  After quiet time we all went for a walk around the hotel.  We tried to get Wes to run around to burn some energy (ie. running up and down ramps).  Ev did great for the first two thirds of the walk and then on our way back she was showing fatigue.  We headed back to the room where she played some games and opened up some special packages that had arrived from her family.

After dinner there was some more cast decorating and a little dance party.  We are really trying to encourage Evelyn to side step, especially with her left leg as it is showing signs of weakness in the hip especially.  When she walks her left leg (even before casts) tends to swing over to almost cross the right leg.  It is like she is walking on a tightrope.  As time goes on this should correct as she builds up strength.  After the dance party was bed time.

 

Overall Evelyn has done amazingly well.  Better than we expected.  Her pain level seems very low and we have hardly given her pain medications in the last several days.  She is moving more than we thought she would be in terms of twisting, climbing on the couch etc.  The poor girl is exhausted though.  She hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since before her surgery.  Her routine is still out of wack.  The casts are a whole new experience for her and preventing her from getting to a deep sleep.  Her moods change very quick.  She is usually happy but she can go to angry or sad very quickly.  Yes, she is a four years old and a feisty little girl but she just seems more “moody” than normal.  Full on tears and screaming.  Poor girl.  Her little body is going through so much and she likely doesn’t know how to articulate it to us.  The only person who she seems to want to console her is Daddy which has been a bit tough (especially on Mommy).   Every day will get better.  She does amaze me though.  She has gone through a lot in the last few weeks.  It is very true that these warriors are so resilient!