Saturday, September 14, 2013

Kellyn's Progress in Physical Therapy

So Kellyn has been in physical therapy now for about three weeks.  Overall, I think she is making good progress.  I have noticed that her right head tilt is not as pronounced as it previously was.  Also when I tilt her to her right, she is now able to pick her head up much easier than she used to.  So her neck muscles have definitely strengthened.  Her trunk is much less inclined to tilt to the left now too.  I think the lessening of her trunk tilt is a more dramatic improvement compared to her the decrease in her head tilt.

Also, Kellyn has made great strides in her motor skill progression and her ability to carry out the physical therapy exercises   She is now able to sit unassisted in a much more stable manner.  Oftentimes, her back will even remain straight instead of tilting to the left.  In addition, she is now able to roll from back-to-belly unassisted.  She is much more comfortable lying on her right side and does not fight this position anymore.  When I run through the physical therapy exercises with her, I can see her flexibility and strength increasing. 

Kellyn has worked super hard over the past few weeks.  With physical therapy two to three times weekly coupled with Ryan and I constantly doing these exercises with her at home, Kellyn barely gets a break.  We even find ways to sneak in some stretching or strengthening component during her play time.  It's been a pretty intense and busy past few weeks, but I think all the time and energy poured into this has been worth it.  I am really excited for the day when we can hopefully have our life back and not be constantly doing physical therapy.  I have no idea when that day will come, but I will hang onto this light at the end of the tunnel.  Overall, I am very pleased with Kellyn's progress in physical therapy.