Evelyn had a great sleep last night since she was free of her casts! You could tell her mood was much better, especially since her independence is returning.  Once she had her “Super Shoes” on she was walking around from room to room and chasing Wes.  It was so nice to see her happier!

We got to the hospital with some time to spare so Evie walked the halls.  When Brian tried to give her a hand she said “I can do it myself!”  Yes, she could!  She walked right into the therapy waiting room and as she approached the entrance she said “I’m almost there!!” She was so proud! Also, a new observation while Evie was walking, we could hear her heel stopper clicking loudly.  We never heard that before.  This means she was actually using the hinge in her AFO and bending at the ankle more (toes lifting up).  Before her spasticity would prevent her from being able to flex less than 90 degrees while in her AFO, even though her AFO would have allowed her.  This is kind of hard to explain but the point is, this is an improvement!

Today she worked with a new therapist, another Jessica!  She was great too.  Evie started with walking on the treadmill and practiced her side steps and backwards walking.  Then she threw bean bags into the net while balancing in a half kneel.  After she went on a scavenger hunt for puzzle pieces.  She had to walk backwards as she looked for them and then use one leg to kneel down to pick up the piece.  Once every piece was picked up she put the puzzle together while standing on one leg.  Lastly, she got to ride the bike!  Today she did more pedaling on her own which was great!  She has always had trouble figuring out the movement of pushing the pedals  (unable to easily keep her feet on the pedals didn’t help) but with more practice she will catch on.  No more spasticity to get in the way!

 

 

During her physio session Evie received her new orthodics or “Super Shoes.”  She now has night splints that have a neat galaxy pattern on them.  She also has SMOs which are a shorter version of her current AFOs (which she will still wear for a few more weeks as she gets stronger, then she will move to the SMOs).  The SMOs are purple with hearts and we will be on the hunt for some new shoes for these while we are down here.   She also received a few different sizes of inserts for her shoes once she is out of braces all together.  Pretty exciting!

 

This afternoon Evie wore her knee immobilizers and night braces for a bit to test them out and get a good stretch in.  She also finally completed all of her stretches and strengthening exercises that Dr. Park’s team suggests doing twice a day.  It was hard to complete everything right after surgery and with the casts on.  To complete the program it took close to an hour as Evie was tired by this time and didn’t really cooperate.  Hopefully as we get better at understanding each exercise and finding ways to make it more fun, it won’t seem as much like a chore.  They will definitely help her gain strength and mobility!

After dinner the kids coloured for a while and Evie put on a play.  Love seeing the two of them do things together and also love seeing Evie be more like herself, our little performer.  This weekend we will be practicing walking (forwards and backwards), side stepping and half-kneeling.

TGIF!