Shriner's - Day 15 - more awesomeness (cross-post)

As promised, here I am with more details on what Ben was up to on Day 15 here at Shriner's.

In the morning, he had an hour of OT (Occupational Therapy). Well. That is going SO MUCH BETTER than it was last week. Last week, he started crying before we even got in the room and REFUSED to go in until coerced. Now? He goes in happily and works hard for an hour (previously, sessions would only last about a half hour).

Here he is working on cutting, and doing a great job!

Probably the biggest deal here is that he can now sit ALOT better than he could 3 weeks ago. In the beginning, his truck control was poor and it was hard for him to sit up straight for even 10 minutes. Now he can do it for the whole hour (with a little reminding). Betty is sitting behind him, but really just to make him feel more secure. She really isn't supporting him at all.
And here he is joking with Betty!

At the end of the session, it was Whiteboard time. After missing a few sessions while Mom was here, I was thrilled to see him holding his marker so well AND writing his name HIMSELF!

At 11am, it was time for PT with Stephanie. Now that he's getting stronger, it's time to work on independent standing! How exciting! Before the operation, he had been working on it and could sometimes last up to 5 seconds before having to hold on to something. But it was so HARD when he was so high up on his toes and his knees were bent. Now, with flat feet and straight knees, he can make some real progress towards standing on his own!
Here he is standing with Stephanie behind him. She's been continually modifying a beanbag toss game as he's been progressing. In the beginning, he just had to sit on the bench and throw. Then he had to pull to stand using his canes and sit back down, before we would give him a beanbag to throw. Then he had to pull to stand with his canes, stand for a few seconds with his canes, and sit back down before we'd give him a beanbag. And now? He has to pull to stand and then LET GO and stand independently for a few seconds before we'll give him a beanbag.
You can see Stephanie's hands behind him here, and yes, sometimes she is supporting him, but there are times where he has stood on his own for up to 10 seconds! (See the video below for more standing success.)

We've also been working on knee-walking. Before the surgery, Ben could take up to 10 steps on his knees before falling forward onto his hands. Now, Stephanie has to support him, but we expect that this will improve quickly.

And I had to post this picture just because it's so cute!

Here's a video of him working on his standing for Daddy and Daniel:



At the end of each morning session of PT, Ben does his walking practice. At first it was with his walker and then he progressed very quickly to his canes. And this time? He was holding onto a skipping rope. His steps look amazing! His feet are nice and flat and most of the time he takes nice, big steps. And sometimes? His heels even hit the ground first!



Ben's pool sessions have been going great. He LOVES the pool and does everything that Stephanie asks him to do. In the pool, he works on standing with his feet flat and his knees straight. He also works on high kneeling (standing on his knees), pulling up to stand, squats, and even walking! And this week he took his first independent steps in the pool!!