Wednesday, April 1, 2009

To stand or not to stand...when it comes

Hi everyone...

So anyone on Facebook knows that Mike had PT and OT yesterday. It was a big day for him. The physical therapist put him in the stander. There had been talk of a stander before and they have expressed the idea of having Mike use one before but I had never heard of one before all this. And I certainly didn't think Mike was ready for one so when they came out and told me he was in it I was shocked! And not only was he in it but he seemed to like it!!! I can't watch him in the treatment room when the therapists are working with him but I could tell he was doing ok. Yesterday was going so much better than the normal PT/OT appt, he was doing his usual crying and yelling in the treatment room but there were more quiet time yesterday than normal. When L & M (the OT and PT) came out to talk to me while R (the other PT) was working with him they told me that he had been in the stander for 25 minutes! I couldn't believe it!! He was weight bearing for 25 minutes!! Sure, the stander provides a great deal of support but he had to be on his feet and he was tolerating bearing weight!! I was so thrilled. They brought him out in the stander. I have to be honest, I was so glad my dad wasn't there. It was hard to see for the first time. I mean, you know your kid can't walk and you know your kid has cancer and that this stander is a great thing for him because he can be up and it can help him gain the confidence that he needs to stand and start walking on his own again but it was hard. I had to fight tears because he needed to see me happy and proud that he was standing but deep down (well, honestly, not all that deep down, pretty much right on the surface with the lump in my throat) I just wanted to cry. This is what he came out in...



The fact that he stood for 25 minutes in it is wonderful though. If this thing is going to help him I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure he gets to use it there and that he gets one at home if he needs it and the therapists think that it will help him. We go back for more PT and OT on Thursday so I will pick their brains more about it then.

A few pieces of good news came out of our exam up in oncology... his counts are great again!! They are holding strong and all in the normal range!! :) YAY Mikey!! :) He did amazingly well with the Doctors also!! This was the first appointment in 6 months that he didn't scream the whole time, he actually helped the Dr with the stethoscope and blood pressure and let them look in his ears without screaming and crying and flailing all over the place! It was a good visit with oncology yesterday. Also, they ran the blood work that the GI needed done and ran a hormone panel again because of some strange hair growth on Mike.

Katie has been doing really well... she is definitely starting to show signs of the 'my sibling is sick' syndrome but all in all she's a great kid and isn't giving anyone any problems. I feel like I need to spend a little more one-on-one time with her so I'm trying to do that as much as possible. She has some great little friends and is such a happy kid... Matt and I are so lucky that she is so great and adjusts so easily! :)

Now, onto business... don't forget about the St. Baldrick's Foundation event at the Irish Circle in Rockaway on May 30th!! Click the dancing leprechaun on the top right of my blog and donate or get the info to come spend the day with us!!

I hope that you are all doing well!! :) Please keep those prayers coming... my little man and our family need them!!

1 comments:

dude said...

((chrissie))
yayyyyyy MIKE!!!!
they just don't stop surprising us :)


I'm trying to convince Darryl we need to bring the boys up on the 30th