CIT: Week 2 Recap

Things have been smooth sailing during week 2 of the casting.  Ryder is constantly amazing us with how much he is using Lefty and how well he has adjusted to having the cast on.  He’s gaining back some of his independence and is learning to be confident and try to do things with Lefty, then when it’s too hard he just asks for help without getting frustrated.

I’m really shocked with how well he’s doing on his feet since he has had the cast on his arm.  At first having the cast on threw his balance off really bad, but now he is being so brave on his feet and has started climbing on all kinds of things and walking on uneven surfaces.

We met with his Physiatrist (rehab doctor) today and he was very pleased with how the casting was going and also with Ryder’s Orthotics.  I haven’t updated about his Orthotics, but they are really doing their job!  We had to have a break-in period but Ryder is to the point now where he wears them full time and you can see a huge improvement in the way he walks.  He is no longer dragging his left foot along, but instead taking a conscious step with his left foot.  At first walking with the orthotics (plus his shoes that are 1.5 sizes too big to fit them!) were weighing his feet down so you could tell that it was kind of exhausting to walk around.  But it didn’t take long for him to build those leg muscles up and now he’s walking so well in them!

Here are some pictures from Week 2 of Constraint Therapy:

   

Challenges:

• Accidentally hitting himself and others in the face with the cast!
• Getting food out of his left hand once he has it up to his mouth.
• No pincer grasp & using fingers independently of each other
• Picking up large objects or very small objects
• Getting a good grip on a crayon or pen to be able to draw

Accomplishments:

• Painting with a paintbrush and fingerpaints!
• Opening doors and flipping light switches
• feeding himself snacks
• Picking up coins
• Drinking from a cup with handles
• Carrying around objects that have some weight to them
• Rubbing his eyes and getting his hair out of his face
• KEEPING HIS CAST ON FOR A WEEK STRAIGHT!  Thank goodness it didn’t fall off again.

Two weeks down, only 1 more to go!  I’m so proud of Ryder for being such a good sport with this whole thing.  We’re making lots of progress with Lefty and I’m so happy to see him benefiting from it all.