LightGait Jr. and Treadmill

I am copying this post from Junior's regular blog. Though it isn't an "adaption" I wanted to share, so others could see some of the equipment available. We do not have this at home but used it at the therapy office and Junior did so well, he also really enjoyed it and got quite the workout.

Gait Trainer and Treadmill Therapy
Junior had his PT evaluation a couple weeks ago but then his asthma was so bad we couldn't start the therapy. Today was his first session and it went so well. He started with a good stretch then worked on some sitting. He has lots of "homework" to do before next weeks session.

Then it was time to try out the walker and treadmill. We got Junior all set up and in the walker, this walker is so neat. It supports him as much as needed and can be placed over a treadmill(it is called the LiteGait Jr).
The therapist told me she didn't expect to see any muscle activation during this first session and just wanted him to get used to the walker. Well after a few minutes the therapist said that she could feel muscle activation. Wow, woohoo go Junior. He will be working on weight shifting and pushing with his legs over the coming weeks. The goal being getting Junior into a special walker that moves very easily so just him pushing or shifting his weight could move it.
Leaving for therapy this morning, he was looking a little tired but was very excited.
In the walker and looking very serious as he works hard
Junior on a treadmill, wow, I never thought I would see this. I am overjoyed that he is getting this therapy and so proud of him. He is determined to get the most out of life, if only everyone had his attitude.

Today I saw a lot of hope, I saw the possibility that with some work Junior could move himself. No his legs aren't suddenly going to start working, he is not going to "walk" in the typical sense of the word. But that doesn't mean he can't learn to use his legs to help move around. I can't wait to see how Junior does with his therapy.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!
This has not been an easy week but we did find some time for a little Easter fun.

Junior loves bubble wrap so first we made a spring time bubble wrap painting. Paint on the bubblewrap then cover it with paper and press down. Yeah, finally got around to making covers for Junior's arm straps.
Then when it was dry we had to add some butterfly stickers.
Then when it was time to decorate eggs he wanted his bubble wrap again. Each egg ended up painted differently. One bubble wrap, one just finger paint, dot markers, and regular markers. Not fancy but we had fun.
Yesterday evening we made these little Easter birds nest cookies. They turned out cute and are very yummy. Just chocolate, peanut butter, and chow mein noodles, add some jelly beans for eggs(It would have been perfect with the little chocolate robin eggs and also butterscotch chips make for more real looking nests but we like the chocolate better).
Here is the recipe just in case you want to give them a try.
Melt 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1 1/2 cup peanut butter. Carefully stir in 4 cups chow mein noodles. Spoon onto wax paper and add jelly beans or other egg shaped candy to the top.

Asthma

We are still alive, just dealing with spring time and the severe asthma/allergies that go along with it.
Junior is having an especially hard time this year and his asthma has changed quite a bit. Now instead of just getting super gunky he also is dealing with some very scary broncho spasms and airway constriction. Hearing whistling as your child tries to breathe is not a good thing. Our pulmo is great and we are working to come up with the best plan to deal with this. Feel free to visit his regular blog for more detail.

This may not be something that is useful to others but thought I would share since it fits the adaption category.
One of Junior's nebulizer treatments is mucomyst and that stuff is awful smelling. Not only does it stink it also causes a sticky film which ruins air purifiers and makes our dvd players go out every couple months. We had to find some way to try and contain the mucomyst mist during his treatments so made this little tent. Talk about super low tech adaptions. We made a square out of pvc, attached a plastic clothes hanger to two sides and covered it with a cloth shower curtain(we cut tow small slits in the shower curtain for the hangers to go through).
Not fancy but it seems to be working and my house doesn't always smell like rotten eggs any more.
We have it hanging from his lift.

Bowling Ramp Revisited

Thought I would post this on here since it is another use for the bowling ramp. You can check out our bowling ramp and directions for creating your own HERE.
When the weather is nice Junior loves to be outside. One of his favorite things to do while out on our porch is play basketball. To make his basketball hoop(we have the little tykes hoop) more accessible we put Junior in his stander and then flip his bowling ramp so the top is inside the basketball hoop.
Then end of the ramp is on Junior's stander tray. I raise his tray a bit so the ramp is pretty much level with the basketball hoop.
Here are a couple pics of Junior playing basketball.

Sick

Junior has been sick the last couple weeks so I haven't gotten any new posts up. Today is going better so hopefully I can get back to regular posting in a few more days. Feel free to jump on over to his regular blog to see what has been going on.