Sadie Update

If you'll remember, Sadie was fitted with her AFOs (ankle foot orthotics) a few months ago. 

Of course, she hated them and was able to kick them off within a few minutes.  We went back for a re-eval and the doc added an extra X-strap to help keep them on.  She still cried everytime we put them on and actually regressed in standing.  We gave her a little break from them and she would stand fine.  After trying again, I noticed some bruising on the top of her feet (between her ankles).  I decided to buy thicker socks (thank you Children's Place) and trade in her velcro shoes for some lace-ups.  The problem was:  1. Her socks were too thin and  2. The velcro did not span the entire strap, so I had to pull the strap extra tight to keep her shoes on (hence, the bruising).  With the lace-ups, I am able to tie them loosely and they stay on fine.

Before:

After:

So much better!  Today during Bible study, she scooted across the floor laying on her back.  Yes, she was angry, but she did it.  She has never moved on her own like that.  She went at least 3 or 4 feet!  What a blessing.  I know it was the support of the braces that helped her :)  She may lose some hair in the back, but she moved on her own! She also did 12 ab crunches during the study.  She just falls back (on a Boppy) and does a complete crunch to come back up.  Wish I could do that :)

She has also gone through a growth spurt.  I mean seriously!  I bought her 3 new pair of jeans yesterday (3T) from Children's Place ($10 each + 5 pair of socks for $5 - I love a good sale!) because her 2T jeans became capris overnight.  She is really getting tall!

Speech is also going well.  We have picture cards that we use and she tries to pick the right answer between two.  She will not touch the card, but she stares at it intently so we know she knows :)  She can say "apple" (in her own way, of course), says "sh" for fish, and thinks most animals with fur are dogs, so she pants when she sees pictures of a cat or dog.  She has mimicked me roar like a lion, but only a few times.  It is the cutest thing.  She has also started to "sing" when familiar songs come on her dvd's.  Of course, she has watched them all at least 1000 times, so this is no surprise.

During hippotherapy yesterday, she did not throw a fit and actually pushed up on her hands at least twice.  She also is able to balance herself without assistance when the horse is trotting (pretty fast, I may add).  We know those abs are strong!

Of course, she has also thrown her share of fits over the past two weeks, but the past two days have been better, so I'm hoping she is getting over whatever was bothering her :)

Just wanted to let everyone know her progress!