Making Progress
I want to make sure I’m striking the right tone with this blog. Since it’s Easter Sunday and many of you are celebrating, I couldn’t think of a better day to highlight some of the progress Maddie is making. Let’s celebrate some of the physical accomplishments that Maddie has achieved.
Now Maddie was diagnosed on December 3, 2021. The only way Maddie could move around was by rolling. This was pretty limited as well. She could get around whatever room she was in, but could only go from point A to B in a straight line. She couldn’t adjust herself to get where she wanted to go.
Boy, were those the good old days. Obviously that’s a joke. However Maddie is now an escape artist. If you step outside the living room for a few minutes, there’s no telling where she could be. At times she’s over by the shoes, her favorite place to be. She knows she’s not supposed to be there. So Maddie will peek over her shoulder and try to roll away before getting caught. Her favorite move is to roll all the way down the hall, take a right turn into our bedroom, roll all the way through our bedroom, and take another turn to get into our master bathroom.
Maddie still gets around primarily by rolling. She has added a pretty good army crawl to her bag of tricks. Maddie is able to spot where she is going. You can see her spot her location and off she goes. We’re working on her crawling on her hands and knees which she is just about to master. She just has to put all the pieces together.
This last Monday, Maddie’s new orthopedic inserts arrived. They’re called SMOs. They are placed over top of her socks and can fit into her Billy Shoes. These are designed to reinforce her ankles to make a steadier base for Maddie to stand. She’s now able to stand unassisted for 5 minutes before she tires out. When I saw the picture of Maddie standing on her own, wow does she look like a toddler.
I had the pleasure of being home for Maddie’s in-home physical therapy session this week. Typically I’m at work, so I don’t get to participate in many of these. Nicole carries the major burden of Maddie’s therapy visits. I sat back and just watched Maddie work. There were tears, real and fake. However I saw a lot of determination on her face. She was working hard. Slowly but surely, she’s making progress.
-Written by Adam Birchmeier
