CHRISTMAS

results...

AFO measurement for today...
left 20 degrees
right 10 degrees!!!

AFO results...

Izzy with Gram & Emelia

I have been recording the angles of izzy's ankles each week since we got her new AFOs.  

When we started the left foot was 45 degrees and the right was 25 degrees

After the first two weeks it was 40  and 20. (measured by orthotist)

November 24 it was 32 & 18.

Today it is 28 and 12!!!  When we get within 10 degrees of our goal (90 degrees or normal flat foot) we will order the standing AFOs and shoes!

Our goal (set by orthotist) was to get 2-3 degrees per week!  She has exceeded those goals.  

We should be getting the KIDWALK any day now.  I pray that she is inspired to move when she gets in it and that her feet are stretched enough to stand comfortably.  Well, I really pray that she'll take off walking (Mark 11:24 ... 2 Corinthians 5:7).

swash

Here is Izzy with the orthotist, in her new swash!

Izzy was little red riding hood for Halloween.

Izzy is doing great in the swash! She is already looser in the pelvic area and hips. Yesterday Camilla said that she sat Izzy on the bolster and told her to stand up to the count of 10. I'm sure Camilla was holding her hands. So she stood each time and when Camilla said 10 Izzy would sit down. She challenged her to go to 20 but Izzy sat down at 10 or 11. I guess she was getting tired.

When Margaret worked with her afterwards she had rhyming flash cards and a switch that simply said "yes" for izzy to push. Each time Margaret showed her and spoke the rhyming words Izzy would push yes and did not push the button for the words that did not rhyme. She did all the answers correct and consistantly. At the end Margaret told her how well she had done and Izzy pushed the button for a "yes."

She is still adjusting to the new AFO's. She lasts about 1-2 hours before demanding they come OFF. We cut back the tension on the right one last night and are hoping just getting used to them on her feet will help her adjust. We're very excited about getting the kid walk soon and having her all ready for lots of standing and moving!

I took izzy to the orthotist today to pick up her S.W.A.S.H. and A.F.O.’s. The A.F.O.’s were not quite ready, they are adding springs. Here’s Izzy being fitted in the swash…

We had to wait while things were shortened and lengthened and tightened …

All done! We go back next Monday to get the AFO’s. Here’s a pic of Izzy with the orthotist.

riding the bike!

Izzy has been doing great in school this year. I have been posting about it on my blog, but forget to post here too!

She spends her days with her teacher, Melanie, who is a visual therapist and Michelle who is Izzy's para. They do a lot of visual activities in their little room and then spend time in kindergarten class. Izzy has speech therapy now every day. Margaret (speech therapist) realized that Izzy gets tired of working after 20 minutes so she is seeing her daily for a shorter time. She has been using a storyboard software allowing izzy to press the mouse to have different phrases spoken. When I pick her up she is always prompted to push the mouse to say, "I'd like to go home soon." She uses eye gaze and now is using her hands to make choices. She does a lot of coloring and papers using hand over hand.

Melanie showed me a video that was taken in the classroom of Izzy coloring. She is putting it on a cd for me and when I get it I will load it up so you can see it too. Isabelle is really showing her teachers and therapists that she knows exactly what is going on and with a little patience can show them what they want her to do. Melanie works hard to keep Izzy inspired to work. She brings fun princess tiaras and clip on earrings to encourage her to make choices.

Camilla works with Izzy on Tuesday and Thursdays. This week she rode the bicycle on Tuesday and did great! She held onto the handlebars the entire time and relaxed her legs as the pedals went up and down. Today she was on a board that had wheels (hard to explain), but she was given a hoola hoop to hold and camilla pulled her up and down the hall. Camilla is great and is always coming up with fun things to try.

While I miss Barbara and Niecie who were her teachers for the last three years, this year is off to a great start! We still get to speak to them and fortunately Barbara saw Izzy on the bike and ran for the camera (she knows I love to SEE what Izzy is doing) and emailed several pics to me.

Tomorrow we are going on a field trip! We will drive to Shawnee to visit a pumpkin patch/corn maze. We'll ride on a hay ride and plan to stop for ice cream on our way home.

what's going on...

I was writing a response to an email this morning about Izzy and realized there were enough things going on to warrant an update on her!

I'm seeing some new things this year and it's pretty exciting. Izzy is starting to actually show interest in certain things. This after so many tries to get her to act interested in a toy or a food. She pouted when her teacher tried to replace a toy she was holding and stayed unhappy until she was given back the original toy. I watched her reach for Barney stickers in therapy yesterday and was actually surprised to see her little hand reach high to get the sticker. She really wanted it! I brought home cheesecake from lunch the other day and offered a bite to her. She gobbled up all I would give her. She loved it! I am so excited to see her show preferences!

She loves being read to, likes to be talked to like a big girl, and enjoys her time at school.

You know that we always give God all the glory and praise for any and all improvements in Isabelle, without His healing and protection we would not have her at all. We are so thankful for the work that He is doing and the wonderful things to come!

locks of love

Here she is... hair washed and brushed, ready to be measured and cut.

Sectioned and waiting for scissors... It has to be at least 10" tip to tip. No colored hair or layered hair.

One down...

Pause for tears.

Done.

Swallow hard. another tear.

The new style, she seems pretty pleased with her hair!

Whew... that was harder than I imagined. I just hope it helps someone, somewhere.

izzy is 6 today!

Izzy spent her sixth birthday sleeping in late, watching Gram and Grandpa John cook, and swimming with mom, dad, and brother Bailey.


Here she is in one of her new birthday outfits (from Gymboree)! So cute!

Swimming with mom!

Mom got this cute dress for Izzy. She wore it to church this morning and looked adorable. The sun was so bright she couldn't keep her eyes opened!

Her hair is so long! So long. I am seriously considering a cut. Like 10 inches... for this.

happy fourth...

A pic of Izzy from today.

summer school

Today was Izzy's first day of Summer School, which is basically a short session with PT and OT at school. It is on Wednesdays throughout June and July. Today we saw Camilla (our favorite :) ) and the representative from an equipment company came to try her out in a semi new product called Kid Walk. It is really hard to describe, but it holds her in place securely while allowing her oppportunity to move. It is really a neat thing and I was impressed with several things.

1. She is never very happy in any type of standing device and she seemed pretty comfortable in this.
2. She looked pretty good in it and her legs looked good.
3. She could easily move.
4. She did try to initiate a step or two at the beginning.

It did make her very tired. We moved from that to try a lightweight stroller because she is outgrowing hers and she almost went to sleep she was so comfortable in this. We are hoping to get a good deal on this demo model. They retail for about 2K and so we'll see. He's supposed to let us know about pricing later today. I don't think insurance will pay for another stroller yet because she got the big one about a year ago. We can't use it because it's too heavy to get in and out of the car so it's brand new. It is also really big. This one is lightweight like the one we've been using, just bigger. It was really comfortable to her and that's huge because she is rarely comfortable in anything.

I took a few pictures of her in the equipment because it is so hard to describe. Of course she had a slew of therapist messing with her the entire time. I'd like to see her in it alone, just left to do whatever and see if she tries to move. I think she would!

pics

See Izzy's new tooth!

an update... finally!

It's been a while since I've posted an update so I thought I would tell you a few things going on with Isabelle lately...

At school they are constantly looking for ways for Isabelle to communicate and share her choices. They use several things and one way they are giving her a choice is asking her to blink once for yes, and no blink for no. Camilla was with Izzy in pre-k and told her it was time to move to her purple chair. She said Izzy fussed. So she explained it was time to get into the purple chair again and Izzy fussed again. So Camilla looked into her face and said, "would you rather sit in your stroller?" and she said Izzy gave a very exaggerated blink for YES! She is getting pretty good at using this method for letting her views be known.

Yesterday Camilla was with her again in pre-k class. She said that she was in her stroller and she had put Izzy's feet on the foot rests. Izzy usually doesn't like to keep her feet in this position, but Camilla told her to keep her feet there so she does not kick her friends. Camilla said she was very careful to keep her feet in that position. She was at the play doh table and Camilla was talking to someone when she noticed Izzy had reached for a cookie cutter the kids were using to make shapes with the play doh. She was sliding it towards her. A friend helped her cut her play doh and Camilla said she opened her hand to hold it.

She continues to do little things daily that show us and others that she is so aware of her environment and she really wants to participate in things. She has been ringing her bell more and more.

Isabelle is getting so tall and is cutting one of her front teeth (finally). She has been a snaggle tooth girl for a year now.

We're coming up on four years since her accident. It's been a long four years, but we know God has been right here with us every step of the way. He has guided us and strengthened us. He has sent just the right people at just the right time to help and encourage us. I want to thank each person who has continued to keep Isabelle in prayer and has believed in her healing. Walking by faith, not sight is truly easier to place on a pretty plaque than to live, but we continue to believe God's promises over what our physical eyes see or what the world says.