Friends

I had OT in the park for the 3rd week in a row. My therapist, Ms. Cindy, usually has out sessions at the pool, but the weather has not been warm enough lately and the pool heater is broken. Therefore, we meet at the park. It's a great opportunity for me to play with other kids. I made some friends last week and this week, they were there again. Their playgroup meets every Tuesday morning and I just happen to be there. Lucky me.

Last week, I was afraid to play with anyone. I kept guarding myself, thinking they would fall on me or I would get trampled. I wouldn't say hi, communicating with Ms. Cindy only. To me, the kids move so differently and it's something I am not used to. This week, I played with Elijah for the longest. He screamed and I screamed. He went down the slide and I followed. Ms. Cindy stepped me to the see-saw and he rode it with me. This is the first kid I have ever played with outside of therapy. It was a lot of fun.

The following day, while at therapy, guess who shows up? It was Elijah from the park. It turns out that he receives OT and Speech therapy as well. Maybe we have more in common that we thought. I did remember him and said hi. We're about the same age and I don't think he has CP. I think we bonded because our personalities are both easygoing. I also think I spoke more than him.

In PT, I got my new aluminum walker and used it this week with no complaints. It is green with orange handles. It has a hip positioner and a belt in front to keep me centered. It also has a stretchy fabric harness that goes between my legs to catch me in case I fall. Fortunately, it's not sturdy enough to encourage me to sit on it. It just jeeps me from falling all the way down. My therapist thought that since the weather had been cooler, my tone would be higher, but that was not the case. The first day I was motivated by a tower of large foam blocks. My mom stacked them up halfway down the hall and I stepped over to knock them down again and again. Before I knew it, I had reached the end of the hall, turned the corner and had even stepped halfway down the next hall. The 2nd session I was motivated by a soccer ball and kicked it every time I reached it. It was so much fun. I didn't even realize all the hard work I was doing (holding on with two hands, pushing the walker and stepping). There may be a video available, but we're still trying to figure out how to get it off my mom's phone and onto the computer. We'll let you know if we succeed.

We brought the walker home to practice this weekend and at conductive ed too. Hopefully I will still be happy in it.