What a Great Independance Day!

Lizzy's last day of full camp was last Friday!!!!  She is so excited not to have to go back right away.  She is now down to 2 days a week of rehab in KC and one day a week here.  That means she also gets to go back to school one day a week (Thursdays).  It has been strange for Julie as well, because she doesn't have to begin preparing to leave a half hour after getting home (at least that is what it felt like).  We had a great weekend as a family doing nothing really except relaxing together.  What a great time.

So, we were asked the other day, what percent Lizzy is back to and that seems like a good way to report on her progress.  These are our opinions, not really scientific, or based on a therapist's view, but here goes:

Legs and mobility-- 60%.  Lizzy can walk basically everywhere usually with no assistance.  She is not graceful when she walks and her stride is a bit different, but she is steady on her feet and falling is not a real issue.  She can go up and down stairs with no assistance; someone simply needs to be at the bottom of the stairs watching her in case there are problems.  Again, it is not very elegant, but she's solid.  She just received permission to "run" on soft surfaces, but not on hard surfaces.  So far, she hasn't really exercised this freedom to my knowledge.  They are trying new leg braces on her.  Her original brace was designed to be cut down, but since it broke so much they ended up putting in metal hinges and now cutting the brace down is not an option.  This weekend she has been using a hard brace for sprained ankles.  It has been working pretty well, but her gait has changed and we expect them to move her to something with a little more support.  All in all, though, she can walk anywhere without any trouble but the smoothness of her stride is still coming.  So, for now, a 60%, but that will go up.

Arm-- 30%.  She has good movement in her shoulder and arm, but it is still awkward and a bit jerky. Constraint camp really helped her remember to try to use her right arm. She can eat chicken strips and pizza rolls (camp food staples) with her right arm/hand without any help.  Holding an eating utensil with her right hand is still difficult, but she has a plastic tube that she can put it in that helps some, but using it is still more therapy than eating. She is still working on grasping with her hand. She is doing wrist excercises that are  helping, but it is very slow in coming.  Occasionally she gets some finger movement going. We will be trying a new arm splint later in the month that we hope will really help with her grasping ability.

Speech - Not sure of a percentage here. Since speech is not just speaking, but encompasses brain function as well, this is difficult for us to label. We should know more after the results of her neuropsycology testing come in next week. She does seem like herself for the most part. She can say just about anything she wants to, and her speaking is totally clear. She rarely has trouble finding the word she wants to use, but does generally use smaller words than before. She has started reading again! Rick Riordan's new book came out recently and she "borrowed" the copy we had set aside for her brother for his birthday. Since she was reading again, often without us asking her to, we decided to get her brother another copy. Whereas before she would likely have finished the book in a day or two, she is now going on a week or two and is still somewhere in the early middle, but we are thrilled. We hope that in time she will love reading again.

Again, thank you all for your interest in and support of our wonderful Lizzy. We are truly blessed!