PT Update

Hooray for crazy, cold New England weather!

First off, I had to laugh at today's weather forecast: "Rest Of Today...Rain. Chance of rain near 100 percent." Yep, definitely a "ponytail day" today. :)

And now, let's get into it...

Monday morning: physical therapy. Mia just loves spending time with Mary. She is so happy when she sees Mary coming down the hall to greet us and she never wants to leave when it is time to go. That is a GOOD therapist! And a huge comfort to me. Every week is a full week for Mia, filled with many different faces. It is nice to have someone who she really enjoys spending time with and someone she is comfortable with. Except for when she is in pain, Mia is pretty good about letting Mary stretch and massage her ankle, knee and elbow.

During the session, Mary asked Mia if she wanted to get out the cones, which Mia eagerly responded to by yelling out, "THANK YOU, JESUS!!" at the top of her lungs. She probably got that from me because that is what I say ever time I find a parking spot when we arrive for her physical therapy. The lot is always packed, so I am very thankful when we find a spot. So, Mary asked me, "Did she just say...." and I said, "Yep, she said, 'Thank you, Jesus'." Mary just laughed. Apparently, Mia likes the "cone exercise." :)

The purpose of this exercise is to help Mia fully extend her arms out in front of her and work on her balance as she squats down to place them on the floor. When Mia squats down, she really only uses her right leg to bend down. She always protects her left leg. So, this is a great exercise for her. It is a simple exercise that most kids don't have any problems with, but it is a challenging one for Mia. The cones are heavy, but she does such a great job squatting down to pick them up, carrying them out in front of her across the room and then squatting back down to place them on the floor.

Mary got some really great stretches out of Mia's left leg during warm-up and really worked at getting Mia to fully extend her left leg, but near the end of the session she noticed Mia is having a hard time turning around/pivoting. She drags her left leg when she turns. Also, her balance is off. They still haven't determined if her hips have been affected or not. Have I mentioned how much I hate JRA and how it effects a child's body...more specifically, my child's body? Ugh! Children were meant to dance, laugh, jump, run....not experience pain when they try to reach up for their sippy cup or when they squat down to pick up a toy off of the floor.

So, we have more "home work" to do. We are blessed to have a daughter who is quite cooperative when it is time to "sit and stretch."

No OT today - Mia is at home. She woke up with another bad cold and her morning was filled with many tears. It is so dreary here today...and wet. Did I mention we are getting a bit of rain today? So, it is a good thing she was able to stay home today to get better. :)