I know that I have been a terrible blogger lately. Honestly, I haven't been in the best of moods. Life has been taking its toll on me physically and emotionally. I have been in a bad mood. Life stinks sometimes. It plain isn't fair. But I saw a light yesterday afternoon, a much needed one that helped me shift my perspective a little.
Kiya had her first appointment with her Birth to 3 therapist yesterday afternoon. I was really not looking forward to it. Kiya had been off and on whiny all day and really we have been there done that before with not much success. Boy was I wrong.
I LOVE our therapist. She let Kiya come to her and took it slow. She wasn't over bearing and while the hour we were together consisted of zero physical therapy activities it was the best hour. She played cars with Kiya and they laughed together. We all sang Ring Around the Rosie and If your Happy and you know it. It was amazing.
So why so great if we did zero therapy??? Well, because I am actually feeling hopeful. This hasn't happened in awhile. Our therapist was encouraged by all the things Kiya was doing. She felt Kiya was doing all the things that she should be physically and that her biggest problem was her ankles. She rolls in on her ankles while standing up. More so on the right than the left but it is obvious. This has been on the radar before but we had no clear solutions. That changed yesterday.
She emailed me last night the name of the braces she recommends, the name of the company here in town that makes them and a form for our doctor to sign so we can get these custom made braces. I dropped the form off at Kiya's pediatrician's office for her signature and then called the company that makes the braces to see what we needed to send them to get an appointment. The woman asked for all of our info, said bring the signed form in and then promptly scheduled us for an appointment for next week. I was floored. I am so excited to get these braces and see the progress.
Our therapist also suggested getting Kiya an easel or whiteboard that would force her to stand up more vertically with her hands up versus standing at a table with hand down. She also thought it would be a good idea for Kiya to have a big wheel type tricycle, something with pedals. This will help her get used to alternating the use of each leg. She currently if we don't force her will climb up the stairs pushing up only on her right leg. She can push up just fine with her left leg she just doesn't.
I feel like for the first time in a long time we have a plan. A real legitimate plan to help Kiya catch up and eventually soar. We have this amazing therapist. We have Shriner's hospital and we have some new friends that have helped make this journey a little more tolerable.
I am ready to jump in and get started. I hate that all of this is happening but it is. Kiya is going to have a lot of changing thrown at her in the next few weeks and she is going to need me to be strong for her as she adjusts. I worry she will be mad at first. I take that back. I know she is going to be mad for awhile. I am not worried about the ankle braces as much as they are flexible and have velcro and she loves having her shoes and socks on. It is the cast that worries me. I know she will bounce back but she is going to be mad. She will have to learn to do some things differently but I know she will do it. The first cast will be the hardest on all of us but together we will get through it.
I think I may be ready to make lemonade with all the lemons life has thrown our way lately. I know this is going to be a bumpy ride for all of us and there will be good days and bad but I am hopeful. We finally have a path to follow that will hopefully lead to nothing but great things for Kiya. I dream about seeing her run around outside. I look forward to the appointment that tells us this is her last cast and she will be fitted for a brace. I look forward to Kiya truly achieving her potential and being a kid in all ways. She is such an amazing little girl and I hate that a curvy spine and some funky ankles are holding her back. I am grateful for Kiya's energy, intellect, sweetness, creativity and that sweet little voice of hers.
Watch out world Kiya's is coming better than ever and she is a force to be reckoned with :)
Showing posts with label therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label therapy. Show all posts
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The results are officially in
After a phone call yesterday at 11am with no info from the doctor and a promise of a call back later on, I was discouraged. My mood got worse when it hit 5pm and no call back. I called again and left a message. At 6pm much to my surprise, the nurse called. She had our MRI results. And it is official....the MRI WAS NORMAL :) minus the curvy spine of course.
Huge sigh of relief to have the official news. So what's next? We have an appointment with the Ortho doctor next Wednesday to discuss treatment options. While we are breathing a sigh of relief, I ask for good vibes, prayers, whatever you can muster for another adoptive family who didn't get the same good news we did and may be looking at spinal surgery for their sweet little one.
We also had what will likely be our last physical therapy session this morning at the medical clinic. The therapist was thrilled with Kiya's progress. She thinks her new shoes are really helping. She is impressed with her muscle tone development. She thinks she is still a little weaker in muscle tone than other children her age but she is making positive progress. We went through some exercises to continue working on. She also referred us to Birth to 3 if we wanted to seek their assistance.
Well, Birth to 3 is coming next Tuesday for our evaluation so we will see if she qualifies for physical therapy through them and then decide what to do from there based on what they recommend.
So there are still some questions as to what is next but at least we know what we are dealing with. Kiya is a trooper so we are encouraged that in time all will work out.
Huge sigh of relief to have the official news. So what's next? We have an appointment with the Ortho doctor next Wednesday to discuss treatment options. While we are breathing a sigh of relief, I ask for good vibes, prayers, whatever you can muster for another adoptive family who didn't get the same good news we did and may be looking at spinal surgery for their sweet little one.
We also had what will likely be our last physical therapy session this morning at the medical clinic. The therapist was thrilled with Kiya's progress. She thinks her new shoes are really helping. She is impressed with her muscle tone development. She thinks she is still a little weaker in muscle tone than other children her age but she is making positive progress. We went through some exercises to continue working on. She also referred us to Birth to 3 if we wanted to seek their assistance.
Well, Birth to 3 is coming next Tuesday for our evaluation so we will see if she qualifies for physical therapy through them and then decide what to do from there based on what they recommend.
So there are still some questions as to what is next but at least we know what we are dealing with. Kiya is a trooper so we are encouraged that in time all will work out.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Birth to 3 visits again
So it has been 1 year since our initial evaluations with Birth to 3. To refresh your memory, Kiya at that time only qualified for speech therapy. At 7 months of age, she showed a 36% delay in her speech. We opted to not pursue therapy at that time and go with a wait and see approach. We always felt that in a year we would have Kiya re-evaluated so here we are.
I had called them with concerns about Kiya not walking independently yet and her speech. Kiya has been replacing the letter m in her words with the letter b. So Mommy is Bobby, Moo is Boo etc. She still says the letter m in words like yummy and vroom so it was just weird.
We had our initial screening this morning. The evaluator asked a bunch of questions and just watched Kiya play and scream. Kiya wasn't in the best of moods this morning.
The questions covered Kiya's speech and communication, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and problem solving skills. The goal by asking the questions was to determine if there were areas in Kiya's development that needed some additional attention.
Based on observation and the answers I gave, the evaluator determined that Kiya is slightly above average in speech and problem solving skills. In fine motor she was well above average and as to be expected her gross motor skills fell short of average. So we fully expected that.
So now what? Well, I will be waiting to hear from an Early Education teacher and a physical therapist to set up a more thorough screening. From there we will determine if Kiya qualifies for services.
Yes, Kiya has been seeing a PT already. However, we were seeing her maybe once a month and we were focusing on her neck muscle issue and her back issue. Sure her walking came up but it doesn't appear to be a concern for our current therapist. My mommy instincts told me to get another opinion. So hence we called Birth to 3.
We shall see what lies ahead. I do feel Kiya is very close to walking on her own. She did take 2-3 steps between Dave and I last night all on her own so we are going to keep working on that. Kiya does tend to roll inward on her ankles and turn her right foot out so between our Birth to 3 screening and our appointment with the Peds Ortho doctor we are hoping to get some answers and some things to work on to improve this.
I had called them with concerns about Kiya not walking independently yet and her speech. Kiya has been replacing the letter m in her words with the letter b. So Mommy is Bobby, Moo is Boo etc. She still says the letter m in words like yummy and vroom so it was just weird.
We had our initial screening this morning. The evaluator asked a bunch of questions and just watched Kiya play and scream. Kiya wasn't in the best of moods this morning.
The questions covered Kiya's speech and communication, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and problem solving skills. The goal by asking the questions was to determine if there were areas in Kiya's development that needed some additional attention.
Based on observation and the answers I gave, the evaluator determined that Kiya is slightly above average in speech and problem solving skills. In fine motor she was well above average and as to be expected her gross motor skills fell short of average. So we fully expected that.
So now what? Well, I will be waiting to hear from an Early Education teacher and a physical therapist to set up a more thorough screening. From there we will determine if Kiya qualifies for services.
Yes, Kiya has been seeing a PT already. However, we were seeing her maybe once a month and we were focusing on her neck muscle issue and her back issue. Sure her walking came up but it doesn't appear to be a concern for our current therapist. My mommy instincts told me to get another opinion. So hence we called Birth to 3.
We shall see what lies ahead. I do feel Kiya is very close to walking on her own. She did take 2-3 steps between Dave and I last night all on her own so we are going to keep working on that. Kiya does tend to roll inward on her ankles and turn her right foot out so between our Birth to 3 screening and our appointment with the Peds Ortho doctor we are hoping to get some answers and some things to work on to improve this.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Therapy update
Therapy was GREAT!! AMAZING!!! WONDERFUL!!!
Okay so maybe I exaggerated a little, but Kiya actually interacted with her therapist and didn't cry the whole appointment or even most of it like she has in the past. This time was so different. She has come along way.
She was so proud to show off her superb crawling skills, her amazing climbing skills, her ability to stand up with little effort and she even (after a lot of bubbles) pushed a little shopping cart for her. The therapist was thrilled beyond words at how well Kiya has progressed in her gross motor development. She said that Kiya has amazing leg strength, balance and in essence has all the physical skills necessary to walk on her own. Now it is a mind game. We need to convince Kiya that yes in fact she can. The therapist gave us some things to try so we will go with that. She really felt that Kiya could walk any day now. Don't worry charging the batteries in the video camera.
On her curved spine issue....well....the word scoliosis was mentioned. The therapist would like Kiya to see a Pediatric Ortho doctor for maybe an x-ray or just a baseline screening. She really feels Kiya is at risk for being diagnosed with this. I did some research and most kids aren't diagnosed until school age. The degree of the curvature will determine treatment options. If minimal then just observation, if moderate a possible back brace and if severe surgery. Given Kiya's young age at this point observation would be all this would entail. She is much too young for a back brace and surgery isn't even considered until age 10 or 12. We are going to discuss with our regular pediatrician next week.
In the meantime, the therapist was thrilled to hear that Kiya starts swim lessons in two weeks and thinks this will be good for her back. We are to continue working with her on her exercise ball. She lies down on her back on it and we roll her forward and back to help stretch the muscles. She loves it. We are also going to try this special tape that athletes use for more acute conditions but some have used for more chronic conditions. We are testing the tape now to see if there is an allergy. Basically the therapist would put strips of tape on Kiya's back to pull the muscles. It will force her to use her back muscles in a different way. Kiya will straighten up if you apply pressure or run you finger along her back so there is some hope that this might help. Walking and being upright may also help.
The other thing we discussed was Kiya's foot. She tends to turn her right foot outwards at times when standing or walking. The running theories are she is doing it for balance or to compensate for her back. The therapist isn't too concerned as in all other positions Kiya's foot looks normal, reflexes properly and Kiya herself without knowing it was exercising her foot muscles which were all good signs.
I think Kiya's favorite part of therapy was the bubbles. She got really quiet while in the exercise room so much so the therapist asked how the rest of Kiya's development was and I said she is right on track. Then came the bubbles....then Kiya pointed, said no no no (her way of saying I want this) and then she kept saying Bubbles bubbles and more. Too cute.
We go back in two weeks for the taping of the back, until then watch out world you may have another toddler hurricane on the lose.
Okay so maybe I exaggerated a little, but Kiya actually interacted with her therapist and didn't cry the whole appointment or even most of it like she has in the past. This time was so different. She has come along way.
She was so proud to show off her superb crawling skills, her amazing climbing skills, her ability to stand up with little effort and she even (after a lot of bubbles) pushed a little shopping cart for her. The therapist was thrilled beyond words at how well Kiya has progressed in her gross motor development. She said that Kiya has amazing leg strength, balance and in essence has all the physical skills necessary to walk on her own. Now it is a mind game. We need to convince Kiya that yes in fact she can. The therapist gave us some things to try so we will go with that. She really felt that Kiya could walk any day now. Don't worry charging the batteries in the video camera.
On her curved spine issue....well....the word scoliosis was mentioned. The therapist would like Kiya to see a Pediatric Ortho doctor for maybe an x-ray or just a baseline screening. She really feels Kiya is at risk for being diagnosed with this. I did some research and most kids aren't diagnosed until school age. The degree of the curvature will determine treatment options. If minimal then just observation, if moderate a possible back brace and if severe surgery. Given Kiya's young age at this point observation would be all this would entail. She is much too young for a back brace and surgery isn't even considered until age 10 or 12. We are going to discuss with our regular pediatrician next week.
In the meantime, the therapist was thrilled to hear that Kiya starts swim lessons in two weeks and thinks this will be good for her back. We are to continue working with her on her exercise ball. She lies down on her back on it and we roll her forward and back to help stretch the muscles. She loves it. We are also going to try this special tape that athletes use for more acute conditions but some have used for more chronic conditions. We are testing the tape now to see if there is an allergy. Basically the therapist would put strips of tape on Kiya's back to pull the muscles. It will force her to use her back muscles in a different way. Kiya will straighten up if you apply pressure or run you finger along her back so there is some hope that this might help. Walking and being upright may also help.
The other thing we discussed was Kiya's foot. She tends to turn her right foot outwards at times when standing or walking. The running theories are she is doing it for balance or to compensate for her back. The therapist isn't too concerned as in all other positions Kiya's foot looks normal, reflexes properly and Kiya herself without knowing it was exercising her foot muscles which were all good signs.
I think Kiya's favorite part of therapy was the bubbles. She got really quiet while in the exercise room so much so the therapist asked how the rest of Kiya's development was and I said she is right on track. Then came the bubbles....then Kiya pointed, said no no no (her way of saying I want this) and then she kept saying Bubbles bubbles and more. Too cute.
We go back in two weeks for the taping of the back, until then watch out world you may have another toddler hurricane on the lose.
Friday, March 26, 2010
AMAZING
Kiya crawls!!! I can hardly believe it but out of the blue she decided to crawl today!!! So exciting!!!
Her therapist is going to be thrilled. She said that crawling or walking would be best to help Kiya with her curved spine :)
Then for the icing on the cake, Kiya scoots on over to the coffee table and stands up. She pulled her self up to standing with ZERO help from me. She has done this before but usually while right next to me or grabbing on to me in some way. This time is was all by herself, I was on the opposite side of the table.
Kiya never ceases to amaze me. I am so honored to be her Mom and so thrilled to see her thriving. She just has her own time table. She will do things when she wants to. So for her she wanted to crawl at 16 months...it works for her so it works for us.
Bring on the next level of baby proofing....
Her therapist is going to be thrilled. She said that crawling or walking would be best to help Kiya with her curved spine :)
Then for the icing on the cake, Kiya scoots on over to the coffee table and stands up. She pulled her self up to standing with ZERO help from me. She has done this before but usually while right next to me or grabbing on to me in some way. This time is was all by herself, I was on the opposite side of the table.
Kiya never ceases to amaze me. I am so honored to be her Mom and so thrilled to see her thriving. She just has her own time table. She will do things when she wants to. So for her she wanted to crawl at 16 months...it works for her so it works for us.
Bring on the next level of baby proofing....
Friday, February 26, 2010
Posture update
We had a follow up appointment with the physical therapist this week to evaluate Kiya's posture and neck again. The appointment went surprisingly well. Kiya had her moments where she was just done being fussed over and she made sure to let us know but she did well and I was proud of her.
As far as her neck muscles go, the therapist thinks there has been great improvement. She had good range of motion and her head isn't as tilted as it was before. We worked on some more exercises to help even more.
As for her posture, well she is sitting up straighter sometimes but still prefers to slouch. The therapist says this can be common for kids that scoot versus traditional crawling. She did notice improvement which was good but we for sure need to keep at it.
Where does the big green monster fit in? Well Kiya is no longer afraid of it. She sits on it and bounces and will roll on her back on it with our help of course. She is getting there and she has learned to say "ball".
We will also be working on getting Kiya to bear more weight on her knees and to try and get her to kneel in a more traditional fashion. If she kneels her legs look like she is sitting Indian style and not straight out behind her. She isn't such a fan of this but we do a little bit multiple times throughout the day so it isn't too bad.
Kiya showed off her many words while there and she showed the therapist how she gets herself into a sitting position. Last time we saw the therapist, Kiya couldn't put herself into a sitting position from laying down so the therapist was very pleased to see this improvement.
So the plan is to keep working with her both at home and at daycare. One of Kiya's teachers is familiar with the exercises and the therapist as her son also went through something similar so she is helping Kiya. We will see the therapist again in March for a progress check.
In the meantime we are just chugging along and watching our baby girl flourish in her own dramatic fashion.
As far as her neck muscles go, the therapist thinks there has been great improvement. She had good range of motion and her head isn't as tilted as it was before. We worked on some more exercises to help even more.
As for her posture, well she is sitting up straighter sometimes but still prefers to slouch. The therapist says this can be common for kids that scoot versus traditional crawling. She did notice improvement which was good but we for sure need to keep at it.
Where does the big green monster fit in? Well Kiya is no longer afraid of it. She sits on it and bounces and will roll on her back on it with our help of course. She is getting there and she has learned to say "ball".
We will also be working on getting Kiya to bear more weight on her knees and to try and get her to kneel in a more traditional fashion. If she kneels her legs look like she is sitting Indian style and not straight out behind her. She isn't such a fan of this but we do a little bit multiple times throughout the day so it isn't too bad.
Kiya showed off her many words while there and she showed the therapist how she gets herself into a sitting position. Last time we saw the therapist, Kiya couldn't put herself into a sitting position from laying down so the therapist was very pleased to see this improvement.
So the plan is to keep working with her both at home and at daycare. One of Kiya's teachers is familiar with the exercises and the therapist as her son also went through something similar so she is helping Kiya. We will see the therapist again in March for a progress check.
In the meantime we are just chugging along and watching our baby girl flourish in her own dramatic fashion.
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