Here we go...

Today was Anabelle's first Physical Therapy since she's gotten her braces (or as we call them her "Super Shoes"). The PT says that she is looking really good. Her stability is not very good and she is not standing on her own yet but she is taking to the braces much better than I had thought she would. I credit all of that to my faithful Lord and the many people praying for our baby. She is now on the road to recovery or at least some normalcy. The PT says she wants to work with Anabelle and a walker. She said that the walker wont be permanent but just a tool to get Anabelle used to walking in her braces. She has been using her legs in such a different way than the braces are making her use them. Today she did about 25 squats in her braces. By the end her poor legs were shaking they were so tired. Imagine never being a runner and then being forced to run a marathon and having someone distract you, stop you, trip you, and throw you off course. You would be exhausted, your muscles tired. You wouldn't have the breathing techniques in place or a pacing practice instilled, and any effort you gave it would only be counteracted by the person standing in front of you trying to bring you down. Anabelle has had zero practice using her legs the way her braces are forcing her to use them. Not to mention her brain is constantly fighting against her, because it has a completely different idea of what her muscles should be doing. The idea is that we are going to be able to retrain her brain. It is going to take a while but I know she will get there. After talking with the PT today I asked a question I almost didn't want to ask. "How long until I see my daughter walk on her own?" I didn't want to ask for a couple of reasons: One being that they would tell me that it will be years and that would just crush me. And second because I didn't want them to tell me that it was going to be a short amount of time and get my hopes up and be let down. But I figured she sees kids like Anabelle all the time, so I asked. She is pretty sure that as long as we keep up with her therapy even when she is home with us and keep her braces on full time, she will be walking on her own in a couple months!! WHAT?! I was so excited to hear that! After over a year of struggle with my daughters walking I see a great thing coming! She is going to be able to move on her own in only a few short months! I will of course do my best to keep everyone updated on her progress as we make it. Tomorrow is 2.5 hours (that she has to keep her braces on) and we will go from there. The hope is to get her to 8-10 hours a day with no sleeping or bathing in them. I will probably blog again when we reach a full day with Anabelle's braces on. Until then... thanks for being a part of this journey with us!