Calling all Phone Technicians - Day 3

Today I needed an emotional and mental day off from watching my hero suffer so I dropped him off with his favorite snacks, stress ball from Nana, pacies, backup pacies, and his favorite music CD. Speaking of music, that new Molly Montana song came on TV in the waiting room and Camden was captivated. I thought he was having one of those possible blank stare seizures, but really he was just listening and smiling to the song. I didn't really catch all of the words, but I do remember one part where she was talking about an uphill battle to climb, maybe it was fate. Move over Beyonce and Fergie, Camden has a new music crush.

So I finally arrived back at the therapy clinic a litle after 11. Camden was doing trunk support strengthening on an exercise ball and appeared unusually calm. He looked to have some fresh lipstick marks on his cheeks and dance music was blaring in the background. I wasn't going to ask because I guess what happens in therasuit therapy stays in therasuit therapy. He saw me and gave me the lip but then smiled after a quick hug.

While I was there he did some crawling exercises in the suit and then some walking drills with Ms. Valerie. He was doing great and they even had to tell him to slow down and concentrate on his steps. Camden was in a cheerful mood which gave me a chance to talk more with Ms. Tammy and Ms. Valarie about Camden's progress. They said to think of Camden's delays as a phone call. His body tries to connect with his brain for signals for movement and most of the time it gets a busy signal and every once in awhile it gets through or has to leave a message, hence his delayed motion or overuse of certain muscles. They said that he currently favors his adductors(leg muscles whose funtion is to move the leg in towards the centerline of the body) thus causing his legs to scissor and his feet to turn inwards. They would like for him to use the abductors(muscles that spread the legs apart)more to assist with correct forward standing motion. I knew he always kept his butt muscles tight, but I always thought that was for the ladies.

So this is just one of the many areas the suit and therapy are helping and he really does walk without scissoring in the suit. Becky and I need to work more on his range of motion at home and keeping his muscles loose and stretched. So all in all, today was much better. It appears as if Camden is beginning to trust his therapists and has accepted that hard work is the way to go. I think I will try and stay with him all day tomorrow since there is a family coming in with a child displaying similar symptoms to Camden that Ms. Tammy would like me to meet. Thanks again for the prayers and support, they are working!