Camp Day 1

James and are in Birmingham for an intensive therapy camp. Today was his first day in therapy. Our focus for these next two weeks will be walking and strengthening. We will also be working on getting James a little more independent in using his walker or canes!! I never really expected him to be using canes right now but as of today those expectations are on my high list!! I say that because today I watched James take his first steps using the quad canes.

Ok first let me back up. We left after I had a doctors appointment that I learned I have a hernia...great! not! I am sure it is from all the lifting and tugging I have to do everyday with James. And it really isn't going to change much until James can get a little more independent in his everyday tasks.. After the appt, we hit the road without a place to stay. The Ronald McDonald House doesn't take reservations and when we left they were full but I just put it to prayer that a room would open up, and about 20 mins before we got there I called and they had just gotten a room for us :-) We got here and I was impressed by house nice it is. So clean and everything is really new looking and perfect for kids. Our room is really clean and nice. They also provide dinner every evening which is a huge money savor. Now the downside for us is that Josh can't be here with us. We haven't been apart this long in over 6 years and it is a little scary to be doing all this without him but it really is an opportunity that we cant miss out on for James.

So back to today's therapy. The center here is much larger than our at home. It is obvious that they get grants through Children's. Our therapist is really nice and very focused which I like. She had a clear plan for not just today but also the 2 weeks we will be here. We started out talking about James pre-op and how the SDR has changed his body.

I sort of sat back and let her work with James. She did really great with him. She made everything into a game but still really challenged his body. I was surprised that she jumped into the hard stuff right of, but I guess that is why we are here! She did some of the stretching we have been working on at home doing and then she did some big ball games. I have pictures and videos but blogger isn't working with me right so you can see them on the facebook page as well.

After about an hour of strengthening activities the PT moved to standing and walking. He got to take a break by standing in a stander and eating a snack. There were a lot of other kids in the gym and several came up to play with James. It was cute. One little boy brought James a car but James really wanted his Blues Clues sticker that he had LOL! After his break the pt brought out the canes. They have bit of a different philosophy than our home therapist. Here they want to get them in canes as soon as possible because they feel walkers don't give the best postures. I can see the pros and cons of each side really.

James did amazing in the quad canes! The therapist even said she didn't expect him to be that stable. She told me that she felt we shouldn't put him back in his walker! SHOCKER! I guess we will see how at the end of these 2 weeks he is doing before we make a big choice like that. But it really makes me excited to think of James being able to walk using canes. That opens up his world so much more!

I guess to wrap everything up, it was a great first day. I didn't expect to have as much to say about it as I did but they hit the ground running and I LOVE IT! I am so excited to see what James is doing after this camp. Maybe we can go up to see Dr. Park using canes ...wishful thinking but it is my heart! James is wore out and currently taking a nap and Mommy's isn't too far behind him! See you tomorrow for Camp day 2