Another Monday at Hope Therapy

Mondays have the bad reputation of being a real drag. People are always really thankful (TGIF) it's Friday, and as the song says "everybody's working for the week-end". Poor, sad Monday gets a raw deal. It is the start of the new week; the opportunity to do better than you did did before, the quintessential fresh start. This having been said, welcome to Monday (a second Monday) in our marathon PT experience.

Honestly, we did have a hard time starting this morning. Aiden had a couple of bad dreams last night and he was really not ready to get up. He was one sleepy-eyed boy. But per his norm, Aiden, once awakened was a smiley boy. Dave is here so he was able to care for Aaron and Addison, and my mom (pictured in maroon) was able to come. She was really excited to visit and watch Aiden doing his stuff.

We started with our usual routine; heat, massage, stretching and exercises. Today Aiden was using 2.5 lbs. weights with his leg exercises. I am surprised at how quickly he has gotten the hang of using the pulleys. He's a pretty smart guy.

After a snack of "pirate booty" , one of Aiden's favorite snack foods (kinda like white cheddar cheese puffs), Shannon strapped him into the suit. In order to keep him happy when loading him in, I usually read to him. Today, Granma got the chance to do it. Aiden really loves books, especially Maisy books. It's a blessing that he likes to be read to and we're taking advantage of that.

Mom was really astonished at the amount of work that goes into this therapy. During our sessions Aiden is moving most of the time. He may not always be moving his whole body, but some part of him is moving. Today, for instance, he was working on deep kneeling and deep squating to stand. And he didn't do 5 reps or even 10 sometimes he did maybe 15. That's on each leg with the kneeling!!! For those of us over 3 years old, consider doing 30 lunges and 15 or 2o deep knee bends when you haven't exercised forever. All I can say is that my glutes and quads would be screaming! That's just a part of his 3 hour work out (or work over depending on how he's feeling about things).

Once the suit is on Aiden is squeezed and pulled by the bungies. In the bottom picture you can see the pile of bungies that go on the suit. They hold it tightly on and provide resistance for muscles that I can' t work. Mostly, Aiden tolerates the suit pretty well. I am not sure that I would be nearly as cooperative.

As well, I think my mom was surprised by the extrodinary amount of work that Shannon puts in to motivating Aiden. She cheers. She sings. She encourages. She hugs. And she does it with love for both Aiden and for the job that she is obviously called to do.

Thank you all so much for reading today. I hope to hear from you soon. It helps me to know that people are reading and praying. Based on what Shannon has told me the 2nd week is often really hard. The kids are usually tired from the prior week. Please pray that Aiden will

"soar on wings like eagles"; that he will "run and not grow weary"; that he will "walk and not be faint" and that HE will "renew his (Aiden's) strength."

Isaiah 40:31 (modified)

Blessings to all,

Christa