Let's see....a power chair...a stander...a walker...and a medical stroller...things look a bit like a showroom at our house! But we love it and are so thankful for what each of these pieces of equipment mean for Miss Tessa: freedom, independence, growth, development and fun!
(we always wonder what people think when they come look at our house...we don't always have every piece of equipment lined up like this for a showing, but we figure whatever equipment is out, makes it pretty darn clear why we have our house on the market ;)
I haven't shown many pics of Tessa in her power chair lately...but we had some warm days a few weeks ago and she strutted her stuff just like she always does :) Amanda is still coming to the house once a week on Thursdays to work with Tessa in her chair. She has been showing huge progress in grasping driving different directions and it's just amazing to continue to watch her grow and blossom!!
The latest addition to our wall-of-equipment is a KidWalk Gait Trainer (aka: walker). A very sweet therapist friend was able to get her hands on a demo for Tessa to borrow for a bit.
Tessa really needs frame support at her pelvis and her chest, but this particular demo only has one support and it doesn't quite come up high enough to support her at her chest. This was the first night we put her in it...and it took us a bit to figure out what 'rigging' we needed to do to help her be comfortable in it!
Here's a look at our second attempt...much better! We just added a pillow under her arms and used a belt to help secure it to the frame...it's not perfect, but it was an improvement! She looks so good in it and it is so amazing to see her upright with the potential to move about on her own!
It's going to take her some time to figure out what she's supposed to do exactly...but short of pom-poms and cheerleading skirts, we do our best to have the motivation part covered ;)
Tessa has come so far with the movement of her arms. Every day she does more and more with her hands and arms...picking things up, exploring her toys, pulling her CI off her head ;)...all things that at one point in time made us wonder what kind of use she would have in her hands and arms.
Well, we're keeping hope that she will make the same discoveries with her legs and feet! Tessa hasn't used her legs for much in almost 2 years, but like anything else, when she starts realizing what her legs can do for her...I'm convinced she'll put in the work and effort it will take to move this little walker around on her own.
Here's to watching Tessa discover more freedom, independence, growth development and FUN!
~Whitney
Go Tessa go!
ReplyDeleteWe have been so thrilled to see how Tessa is using her arms and hands more and more each time we see her. We know, too, that she will discover and learn how to use her sweet feet and legs. This is so awesome to see.... Just praising the Lord! Love to you all! Grandma and Grandpa Bynum
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