Hi Everyone,
We agree that Corey is “in there”. There are times when she looks into our eyes and the connection resonates throughout our whole body. She hears us, she watches us and she tries so hard to communicate. We will continue to talk with her and allow her the permission to feel her frustration with a voice that is temporarily silent. One day it will be heard by all. That will be an amazing day!
Until then, we must continue to look for and celebrate the daily achievements. Corey had OT for an hour today. The therapist continued Natalie’s experiment of alternating “kick the ball with your toe” with “lift your knee to hit the ball”. Take a minute to think of each command. Now mimic the command alternating each movement in succession; feel the difference. They are two distinct movements. Each requires a cognitive thought to change the position of the leg to respond to the action. Each action requires movement from different muscles from the hip to the toe. Corey not only responded to the command, she nailed it 6 out of 6 times. The therapist tried to trick Corey with adding a few additional commands such as, “lift your leg and hold it up”…she did! “I’m going to hold the ball in front of your toe, but DON’T kick it”…she didn’t, instead she shook her foot left/right, waiting! She really wanted to kick, but she followed the command not to!
We shared that we were working on moving the Left toes/foot. We are also trying to get Corey to lift her left leg bent at the knee. Tonight she had some success. As usual, once her braces came off, she was footloose and lovin’ it! Her right knee was bent. I manually would bend and straighten her left leg so she could feel the motion. We then positioned the leg with the bend at the knee and asked Corey to straighten her leg on her own. Corey used the right leg (also bent at the knee) to push up, lifting her hips/butt to try to allow the left leg to push forward and straighten. Slowly she moved her toes to grip her foot forward and eventually that leg straightened out! We cheered and clapped!
Now you know why we affectionately refer to her as having Monkey toes!
Corey I’m sure you must be confused as to why every little motion takes so long and is so difficult. I wonder if in your mind you’re moving your leg and can’t understand why we keep asking you to. You keep trying to answer us despite the confusion and frustration. We are so proud of you honey! You may not know it, but you had a great day. Remember this; your right foot and leg, that you move so fluently now, started with a flinch and a wiggle. You are getting better Corey, and one day you could be writing your own book inspiring others as Allison is an inspiration to us today!
We love you. Happy dreams, xoxo