Hellooooooo my friends!! A lot has been going on since my last blog! Alex was awarded a NEW BIKE by the Bike Ability Foundation from Lisa Federico! If you or anyone you know are looking for a great cause to donate money to.... please contact her at elisabeth.federico@bmcjax.com Her organization helps children like Alex and grants them a bike! There are families that donate money to her foundation and every couple of months she is able to award a child with disabilities a bike so that they can experience something that we all take for granted..... BEING ABLE TO RIDE A BIKE. We are so excited because now we can all bike ride and Alex can get some outside excursions and exercise while enjoying himself! :0) We went for measurements last week, the bike should be in within the next 6 weeks and YOU KNOW WE WILL BE PIMPING THIS THING OUT, LOL!
Last Tuesday he got a cast on his left arm! No he didn't break anything, lol...His occupational therapists think that it will help in getting that left arm to hang straight instead of retracting like it does. He still has no REAL functionality out of his left arm and hand but he continues with therapy in hopes that one day that arm and hand will wake up and remember how to function! The cast has been a nightmare... imagine that! His sleep has been very limited because all of the tone and spasticity that was in his arm is now all gone to his fingers at the end of his cast and his fingers tend to curl uncontrollably and very tightly around the bottom of the cast causing MUCH DISCOMFORT and irritability to say the least! IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING!! However.... the cast will be coming off tomorrow and hopefully they will come up with a new way to cast or keep the elbow straight because I'm over this method of therapy after just one week, lol. No fun for either of us at this point! It goes all the way up UNDER his arm by his arm pit and hangs all the way to his fingers... HEAVY, bulky and just plain uncomfortable. It has hindered his independence here at home with getting up and going to the bathroom by himself, etc.... so I'm worried that even though it may help in the recovery with his arm... it may regress him with all the other obstacles he has overcome and learned to do by himself!
As you can see below he has really gotten the hang of walking with his cane and with God's continued daily miracles.....before we all know it he will be running around again!! I think he may have been showing off just a little because I was filming, ha ha!
The video below Alex is working that left leg and building strength. The days after he does this he is soooo sore... which means he is really getting a great workout!!
Below he is working on learning to step sideways and cross over.... something we all take for granted that Alex still hasn't even come close to mastering. His hips are still very tight from being in hospital and wheelchair for so long but with time and hopefully a baclofen pump it will all work itself out!
Here Christy is working with his walking and hip movement and flow. Doing much better... he certainly has come a long way but still has a very long way to goooooo!
My sweet Alex came up with the idea that he wanted to do chores around the house to earn some money. ABSOLUTELY, lol! I thought I would share this with you.... great to see him gaining a LITTLE independence around here and motivation to moving along with getting back to some sense of normalcy in his life. He vaccuums the living room and dining area, puts away silverware from dishwasher and cleans his toilet and mine!! CLAP CLAP... HA!!
He has definitely improved so much within the last month and a half and I'm so proud of how he continues to impress me with his positive attitude and go get em spunk! We have a cat scan on October 7th to see what is going on with his spine and figure out if he will be a candidate for the baclofen pump trial.
We have been busy bees with therapy and Brooks football. I have to stop and brag on Brooks a little bit as he has certainly been proving himself on that field and I couldn't be prouder! I was able to get on the field last week against Wolfson and capture some great shots, so I'll share them below :0) Alex LOVES going to the games and as you can see from the photo's below.... has certainly got that spirit!!! ENJOY..... and I'll keep you posted on the cast and the pump!
AND MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!! I think he just might be the cheerleaders favorite CHEER leader! :0)
LISA
