I thought I would have to teach my daughter about the world; turns out I have to teach the world about her. They see a girl who doesn't speak,
I see a miracle who doesn't need words.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Intensive Physical Therapy

Before I start this post - let me say thank you for all the phone calls, cards, texts and Facebook messages regarding my last post.  It means the world to me and sometimes just knowing people care about us and Alex is enough to get by.

On Friday Alex finished her 3 week intensive physical therapy at Bon Secours Richmond Hope Therapy.  She went 5 days a week for 3 weeks, 3 hours a day.  Imagine not using a lot of your muscles and then waking up one day and going to the gym and doing hard core workouts for 3 straight hours.  Every morning she would wake up and go to stretch and then grimace at how sore her poor muscles were!  She was such a trooper about being there - and each day she did better than the day before.  And for the most part - she did it with a smile on her face.



I've said it numerous times before, but her PT Shannon is just the best there is - hands down.  She pushes Alex to her full potential and Alex KNOWS she is not going to get away with anything less than what she's supposed to do!  Throw another person in the mix if Shannon is not there and it's a TOTALLY different story!

 
She constantly needs stimulation to make her do what she's supposed to....
 
 
And you can just tell by this picture how everyone claps, cheers and gets happy and excited when she does what she's supposed to.  And I will tell you, that girl works for claps! :)
 


Here are a few pictures of her working out in the "cage".  It takes a village :)


 




She really liked the cage exercises, actually.


The biggest challenge right now is her legs.  She hit such a big growth spurt (almost 5 feet and 64 pounds) and she stands with her knees completely bent.  Her first measurement had one of her knees at a minus 22 (normal would be 0) - so there was a lot of work needed to be done stretching those knees.  She is totally uncomfortable standing without some kind of support and bends her knees to compensate. I can't find the piece of paper I wrote her measurements down on, but after the first week she improved drastically.  Here's Shannon getting a total workout herself trying to get Alex to stand and straighten her knees at the same time.


Bouncing and bubbles help the situation :)
 
 
This is one of my favorite pictures of her walking....she looks so proud of herself!
 
Speaking of walking, here's a quick clip of her.  She was rocking it out day after day - but every time I showed up she just wanted to act all pitiful for me and not do what she was supposed to!  One of the motivating things for her to do was to walk to me to give me a hug.  Win/Win for the both of us!
 



At the end of each session she was completely exhausted - and who can blame her?!?  She inspires me to get myself out exercising again!

 
 
I love Hope Therapy.  I think we are so blessed to have such a great place for our kids to go to get the best therapy for them.  And I am extremely thankful for Shannon.  She is truly the best of the best.  She pushes my girl to be the best that she can be.  She sees all of her possibilities, not her limitations and she is always thinking outside the box to help Alex reach her full potential. THANK YOU SHANNON, you are our hero and we're so grateful for you and ALL that you do!!!


 

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