38 Steps in the Right Direction - Day 12

Today was off our normal routine a bit as we didn't start therapy until 1:30. I woke Camden up early this morning so that he would have plenty of time to take a nap and eat lunch before beginning his workout at Ms. Tammy's gym. It seemed like Camden liked the later start time because he was full of smiles and energy, Dad on the other hand was wiped out!

The big news from today was that he took 38 reciprocal steps in the therasuit with Ms. Tammy only holding his waist. I know this may not sound like a big deal since we have all seen Camden take his graceful Clydesdale marching steps, but the most he was able to do in the suit prior to today without a full fledged meltdown was between 15-20. The suit adds extra stress and resistance since he has tight bands running from his waist to his knees to his shoes. This means Camden has to work 5x's as hard, hence his hulkanian calves and quads and renewed confidence that he can do it!

Camden performed some new weight bearing and functional balance exercises with "Bert" and in the monkey cage. He loved working on "Bert" but was not such a fan of the balance form (see pictures above). Nana and Gramps Bailey came by to watch the last half-hour of therapy and came away very impressed with Ms. Tammy and with Camden's progress. It has been so nice being able to stay with my parents and I don't know what I would have done without their hospitality, emotional support, and never-ending assistance. I love you guys! Thanks again to everyone else for your prayers and support. Just 3 more days to go!

Welcome to the Gun Show - Day 11

Camden and I had a very relaxing weekend and were so happy to finally see Mommy again. We rewarded Camden for his hard work with a dip in the pool on Saturday and some mouseplay at Chuck E Cheese on Sunday. Nana made some wonderful home cooking and Edie Xanders, along with her darling twin daughters and her mother Kate, dropped by on Saturday with a very special FSU colored bear and shawl that Ms. Holman's church had specifically made and blessed for Camden. The sermon on Sunday dealt with the message of courage and strength through tough times and it made me smile to thank how much God has truly blessed us with Camden.

All of the prayers and support seem to be paying off as Camden didn't miss a beat on his final Monday of therapy. He continues to show progress with his upper body control and motor movements, but the one thing that really stands out to Becky and I is how strong he has become. His calves and biceps are noticeably larger and tighter and now we are just waiting for him to rip his clothes and turn green. All of this new strength is helping him to get into new positions and stay in them for longer periods of time. Now all we need is for his brain to remember how he got there.

The rest of the day was filled with his normal routines and exercises with some longer reps included. He did try one new drill in the frog swing. Basically this is a swing that extends almost all of the way to the ground and Camden must lie in it on his stomach and push off with his hands and knees to travel forward. He did excellent with this exercise despite all of the grunts and moans, which we have decided will one day make him an excellent tennis player. Tomorrow's session will be from 1:30 - 5:30 due to some scheduling conflicts and we are hopeful the later time will help with his energy levels. 4 more days to go but I think I am really going to miss this place, Camden, of course, would disagree.

What a difference a prayer makes

Below are two different short video clips of Camden doing the "sit to stand" exercise in the Therasuit. The first video is from Monday and the second video is from yesterday. It is amazing to see the progress he had made in just 4 days. In the second video you may be able to tell that he is having to stand from a much lower stool. We are so proud of you Camden and thank you so much Mom and Pop Kimble and Ms. Tammy!

Thank God It's Friday - Day 10

Camden woke up in a much better mood today and was once again treated to some wonderful homeade Nana cooking, this time it stayed in his stomach instead of all over Daddy and Ms. Tammy. I am so glad Camden felt better today because he had a very special visitor, Ms. Debbie, his physical therapist from his developmental day care in Jacksonville.

Ms. Debbie arrived just in time to see Camden put on his superhero suit, minus the mind reading hat. Ms. Tammy felt like Camden's extra efforts to hold his head up on his own warranted some time off from the helmet. Ms. Debbie was amazed to see how big and tall Camden stood in his suit. Camden showed off with some no handed sit ups followed by a string of log rolls. Everything was fine until it was time to crawl, or as Camden misinterpreted as time to bawl. Camden has cleverly figured out that motioning his hands to his lips means "drink" and with it comes a 5 minute break from therapy. Today however he didn't want to drink when he touched his lips, he just wanted to stop crawling. After Ms. Tammy figured out that she had been duped it was back on the mat for more crawling and bawling. This lasted for 10 more minutes unitl Ms. Beth came to Camden's rescue with her guitar.

Camden and I were lucky to have Ms. Debbie stay with us for the rest of the morning session. She was so proud of Camden's efforts and anxious to try out some new routines when he returns to Jacksonville. Camden worked on some new drills in the spider cage and finally tolerated all of the bungy cords. We were also able to see some amazing progress in his sit to stand drills. I will try to post some video tonight of him doing this drill from Monday and a second video of his progress from today. Mommy is on her way to Tallahassee this afternoon and we both can't wait to see her. Thanks again for cheering our little guy on and check back next week for his final 5 days.

Puke of Earl - Day 9

This morning at home started out great which should have been an omen for things to come. Nana got up early to cook Camden his favorite cheese grits and sausage. After that he had about 2 pieces of cinnamon toast with extra butter and sugar,yumm,yumm. Camden was now loaded down with added calories and energy and ready for whatever Ms. Tammy could throw at him, or so we thought.

Something seemed off from the moment Camden was loaded in the suit and began to work on his abs. He did good with the first set but then just didn't seem interested in his rewarded bouncy time. After his next set of abs he began screaming, moreso than his normal angry, I don't want to work, mode. Ms. Tammy felt like his hips were bothering him from the extra work yesterday and sent me home to get him some Motrin.

I gave Camden some much needed pain relief and then he happily worked on "Bert". It appeared as if Camden was back to normal until it started raining, from Camden's mouth that is. He couldn't seem to keep anything down and therapy was interrupted every few minutes for a water break and clean up. Camden finally started to have a better mood and seemed to get a kick out of us dodging his breakfast.

His tummy eventually got settled and he did some of his best walking yet in the monkey cage. I think the problem may have been that I gave him his nightime medicine last night on a full stomach and combine that with overworked abs and a delicious morning feast. Hopefully he will feel better after his nap and be ready for tomorrow's big day. He has a special day planned as his physical therapist from his day care in Jacksonville is stopping by to watch him in action and give him some more spoiled time.