Our first day at home

So, we began our first day of home therapy today. It's not like we haven't been involved in therapy in our home before. For the last 3 years Aiden has received PT right here in our living room. Only today we were implementing some of the new exercises and routines. As well, Tara started with us today. It was a whole new ball game!

You may be asking yourself, "How did it go?" "How did he do?" Well, here is the answer. In a nut shell, Aiden did not do as well as I had hoped, but he did not revert to his old routines either. He seemed tired and not as focused as I had hoped. There was some disappointment

on my part and some frustration on his.

Then I decided to look at things from his perspective. Aiden is a little boy. He can't necessarily transfer information from Hope Therapy to another location with ease. Honestly, it was difficult for me to make the transition from therapy center to living room. Also, I am not Shannon and neither is Tara. We are both learning the ropes for home therapy with Aiden. Knowing how to hold him; knowing how to facilitate weight shifts; motivating him; I am not proficient yet. Finally, Aiden is smart enough to know that he is at home and I don't really know what I am doing.

This all being said I don't think that today went as poorly as I think that it did. Aiden tackled sit to stand, tall kneeling, trunk rotation, sit ups, bridges, weight bearing on his arms, balancing and bouncing on the peanut and squatting in his mid range. We also did some exercises like one we did in the cage; triple flexion, hamstrings and today, we actually got to abductors!!(hope I spelled that right, it's the muscle that lets you side step, and to this point there has been little action there.) Today, Mr. Lefty gave us 3 good ones! It's the little things in life, right!!:)

I feel like our lives with Aiden have been a journey. Until April we lived our daily lives as if things would change miraculously; hoping beyond hope that maybe there wasn't something really wrong with our son. We carried on with therapies at home believing that they would facilitate the his return to normalcy.

In April that hope was shattered. His diagnosis of CP, although not completely surprising, slammed a door on the dreams of retiring from parenthood when my dear Aiden turned 18 and moved on to a life of his own. I wanted to know what I had done to deserve such a terrible fate (pretty self-centered, huh?). I wanted to know why my God; my heavenly Father, didn't change things when I know that He could.

As we move into this new place on the map of Aiden's life, I feel like Hope therapy was like a cruise in the sea of therapy. We took 3 weeks off from our normal routine (kinda like a vacation) and visited with friends (the ladies and clients at the center). While on the "cruise" we hiked (gait training), mountain climbed(stairs), took long walks (treadmill), took a spinning class or two (tricycling), spoke a new language (the big mack switch) and ate exotic foods (pirate booty and cheerios). But now-it's back to the grindstone.

We will see how it goes here at home. Tara and I will continue to work with Aiden several times weekly. Our home therapist, Bethann, will be back with us tomorrow. We will be returning to speech on Tuesday, and to hippotherapy soon.

One of the verses that Dave and I have held onto throughout our marriage is Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." I will continue to trust that we are in the right place; doing the thing that I have been called to do. Maybe I may even get the chance to encourage or help someone else as I go.

For those of you who are praying for us, please continue. I am in need of stamina to carry on this task. My major obstacle to date is creating a space specifically for therapy. Pray that this is accomplished quickly. Also, pray for Aiden to transition into home therapy. I have not talked to Shannon about their nighttime situation, but continue to pray for her family.

Thank you all so much for keeping up. Keep the comments coming.

Blessings to all,

Christa