OT meeting and Casting talk...

Today we met with Serena, the OT that the Physiatrist recommended, to talk about casting Leah. I was fortunate today that Avi was able to come with me, I was happy to have him there to see what we do at OT. After all of us talking, Serena, Lisa (OT), Avi and myself--we decided that we are not ready for Leah to be casted.
She is doing a nice job right now in her gross motors, that if we cast her too early she may "forget" how to do the things she is doing. For example, Leah just learned to transition to sitting if we were to cast her she would have no way of transitioning and could possibly loose what she has already! That alone was reason enough for us to decide against casting now. We will look into casting again in about 2 months, when Leah is 11 months old. For now, Serena and Lisa have some wonderful ideas of how we can get Leah to be more aware of lefty and about how to cast without really casting! We will be utilizing Leah's immobilizer much more now and we will even put socks over the immobilizer so she can't grab things with righty. She also was very impressed with Leah's movements. She said that her army crawling was good because 95% of the time she was able to get lefty out from underneath her. She also loved that Leah was activly pushing up on all fours!

I'm still all for casting and I am really looking forward to it. I think it will be great for Leah, just in a few months! As the Physiatrist said with every casting the hope is for them to improve mobility by 20%! That's awesome!


I feel confident that waiting to cast is is the right decision for us.

Picture Update!

Leah--9 Months...
A Cubs fan...

Her new sleep position...

Standing by herself...
One day, she's going to kill me for this... :)

Enjoy!!!

Physiatrist Appointment Today.

Well, today was the much anticipated appointment for Leah to see the Physiatrist, or rehab doctor.

It went really well. She had a lot of interesting information for me and I can tell she really knew what she was talking about. She definitly had a wonderful bed side manner and was really friendly.

We started the appointment off by discussing my concerns and discussing what I would like to see Leah doing. I told her that my biggest concern was the lack of awarness of "lefty" and that I would love to see her volentarily grabbing for things.

As she was asking me all these questions about her history, birth etc., Leah was dancing and clapping away! There was a medical student in the room also and I'm telling you Leah was in love with him. She was such a little flirt! She was making such eyes at him! It was adorable!

The Doctor, jumped right in and started talking to us about Constraint Induced Movement Therapy, CIMT or casting. For those of you who don't know what casting is, basically they cast Leah's good arm so that her weaker arm is forced into doing the work. Casting is said to increase mobility and awareness in the effected arm by 20%. The Doctor said she would love to see Leah casted earlier rather then later, which would mean that she would like it to be now!! I have to admit that this threw me for a loop; Our OT and I have discussed casting to great lengths and her opionion of it, is that it is wonderful. She is really pro-casting and thinks Leah will make a great candidate for it, but not until she is walking. Lisa (OT) says that if we cast before Leah is walking then it will interfere with her ability to crawl properly. I find it interesting that the Physiatrist said almost the complete opposite! She said if we wait until she is walking we could be losing the time that we have now. She said that four point crawling isn't always nessecary and that some kids never four point crawl. So, now I'm super confused!! I have thought about Leah getting casted early, but now that it is so close and such a possibility i'm feeling a bit freaked out. I have yet to speak the the OT about it and can't wait to hear what she says. The Rehab Doctor did give us the name of an OT who specializes in casting, she also happens to work at the same office as our current OT. The doctor wrote a referall for us to see this new OT, which I suppose will help us make our decision about casting now or later. Hopefully, we can meet with her next week.

The Physiatrist had really great things to say about Leah. She said that she sees a lot of use of both hands at midline. She also says that it is only a matter of time before Leah is pulling up all over things. I see it already--she loves to grab onto everything!!

As far as a brace on her leg, she did say that Leah will need something. Not surprising! She said right now she can't really tell what type of brace she might need, probably something to stop her from going onto her toes. She said it might be higher up to the knee at the beggining but should go lower after that. She also said that most hemi kids walk later then normal but before 2 years old.

All in all, the appointment went well and was very informative. It looks like we have some decisions to make. We will see her again in 5 months, when Leah is 14 months old.

From an Adult with Hemi...

I was sent this letter awhile ago and I just re-read it. I have such mixed feelings about reading it. It's a pretty intense letter. I do not know the author personally, I was forwarded it from someone else.

Hiya, I'm Jennifer, right hemi since birth...
Firstly I have to say hemiplegia is so frustrating, you have no idea. I can sit and sit just willing my right arm to reach to pick up a pencil I've dropped on the floor, and it feels like my arm is being purposely defiant, laughing at me trying so hard and having little success.When your children play they probably feel as I do, anger at their body for not doing as it’s told. They have no way to get across their feelings, particularly if they are too young to verbalize them or if they have learning difficulties, so anger is the only way they can get across the frustration and hurt they are feeling inside, the injustice of it all.They will realize in time that there isn't any rhyme or reason in the whole hemiplegia business. With your help they'll learn, just as I did, that there'll never be an answer to the question "why me?" and they'll accept that and carry on with their lives regardless. In the mean time - as silly as this seems - be grateful for their anger, it’s a means of communication, ok it’s not the best way to communicate but still it’s the best your children can do for now. They have anger so they have energy, they have the ability to think, to know, that hemiplegia is frustrating. If they were calm all the time, if hemiplegia didn't bother them, if they weren't concerned they can't run as fast or as far as their classmates etc. then they'd never try and they'd never want to reach their full potential.So you have to - somehow - encourage them, find a positive way for them to release their anger. Keep telling them its ok to be angry, you would too if your arm and leg were weak/hurting but anger is not productive and it certainly is not ok to bite etc. because it hurts, and hurting someone not a nice thing to do. I know you'll probably have tried that a million times already but keep saying it! Re-enforcing it will help it sink in. As they get older, tell them it’s not their fault, it’s nothing they've done, and they're not alone, you will always be there for them to talk and you love them more than anything in the world. You have to have the patience of a saint, but it'll be worth it. Anger will turn into tears but then they will calm down and peace will be restored.It will get easier, I promise.

A new appointment!

I got a call today from the Physiatrist, our appointment has been changed. It was originally October 6, then July 26 and now it's THIS THURSDAY!! I pray that it's nothing more and that I am able to handle whatever she tells me. Especially about the brace--which i'm sure you all know, i'm still having a hard time about!! I really need to get a grip!!
All in all, I'm looking forward to the appointment. I've heard such great things about this doctor that if nothing else it should be interesting what she tells me.

My Funny Girl

Right now Leah is at a stage where she is just too funny. The faces and sounds she makes crack us up! She loves to play peek-a-boo, she gets the biggest smile after she hides and comes up. It's such a joy to watch her grow and learn new things.
This week she learned to wave hi and bye. She waves to everything and everyone!

Also, I had mentioned in my previous post that Leah was transitioning from lying to sitting by herself. At the point when I blogged about it she had done it without help maybe three times. Three is enough for me--I know she can do it then. So, yesterday at OT, I told Lisa (OT) about it and the entire session I wanted Leah to show her. Of course, my funny girl would not show her, but today during PT she showed the therapist more then once! I was thrilled, I thought well this is it--typical Leah; she gets something, does it slowly then BAM she's doing it all the time. After therapy I put her in her crib for a nap and when she woke up I heard her playing around in the crib. I went in to check on her and there she was sitting up playing with her aqaurium on the side of her crib! I'm pretty sure I scared the daylights out of her, because I started screaming, jumping and cheering! I was so excited that she did it all by herself. It was a such a wonderful sight to see her sitting there--another milestone down!

She's doing it!!!

Leah officially can now transition from lying down to sitting!!! Yay!!