Friday, June 13, 2008

Back in the swing of things...


Vaeh had physical therapy & speech therapy yesterday. Since we're on summer schedule now, they'll only be here a few times between now & the start of school in the fall! We haven't had her standing too much at the table because she has a tendency to plop. When she does this, instinct is to grab her under the arms & we have 2 more weeks before this is safe! She still acts a little sore when sneezing or coughing, but otherwise doesn't seem to have any discomfort! I'm just amazed by that as its only been 4 weeks since they cut through the sternum! Amazing how quick kids seem to rebound!


Anyway, she did quite well for the PT, getting in some good rotation moves, some squatting, & even a little walking. It was a little strange at first because Barb isn't coming anymore. She isn't working this summer & this fall we'll have new therapists all together :( The county redid their contract & now has different therapists beginning this fall. I was quite suprised how well Vaeh did for Norma as she is a somewhat unfamiliar face. Only a few tears, & then back to all smiles!


The speech therapist came right after the PT & she was quite surprised that Miss V is actually eating. But the little stinker wouldn't "show off" for her like Mommy had hoped! She did eat a little yogurt, but wouldn't even try the popcorn puff. Lorita got out a blue razzberry sucker, which miss thing liked! Then she pulled out an empty bear honey jar. She had a straw thredded through the spout at the top and coiled down inside the bottle. She said it works great, as you can give a gentle squeeze & help the kids get a little something. Vaeh actually took a couple of sips of water! From what I gathered from the therapist, she's making some headway! Finally the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to brighten up!


On a side note, our little heart friend Elaina had surgery yesterday. It was somewhat unexpected as she has been slowly getting sicker & they decided it was in her best interest to go ahead with the surgery. The heart portion of the procedure went well, but her little lungs aren't tolerating things well. Her mom said that they have the ECMO (basically a bypass machine at bedside) ready just in case. PLEASE keep this family in your prayers as this is a very stressful time for them!

4 comments:

The Portas said...

Progress is awesome! Way to go, smiley Vaeh! Isn't the no picking up under the arms thing hard?? I just hated that. But then when the 6 weeks were up, I had gotten so used to using alternate ways of lifting that some ways are still comfortable enough for me to still do.

Thanks for the update! Your little girl is making great strides and she is amazing!!

Lady said...

I'm Elaina's aunt. I want to thank you for the kindness and support you've shown to my sister Hollie. It's such an inspiration to see your own beautiful heart baby doing so well. We have big dreams for Elaina. It has been a rough couple of days, all we can do is pray. Thank you for your prayers.

Unknown said...

We used the honey bear with Arianna. That was how we got her to drink from a straw. It was the thing that got her interested in drinking different things. In fact she went from a bottle straight to a straw cup with the help of the honey bear. I'm glad they got on for Vaeh. That does stink that you lost your therapist, but it didn't seem to bother Vaeh so that's a good thing!

I'm glad she is doing so well and showing off for everyone. Keep up the good work Miss Vaeh!

Unknown said...

Wanted to wish Jon a Happy Father's Day!