Hi Everyone,
Day 2 went better than yesterday! The schedule had a late start today enabling Corey to ease into her morning; her first session was 11-12. In addition to some walking, Corey and Ted exercised her upper trunk and arms today. One of Corey’s goals is to strengthen her core muscles. A sample exercise; She sat on the edge of the matte, leaned on her left arm (for weight bearing) reaching with her right arm up towards the ceiling to stretch her torso. This is a tough exercise for stretching and balance.
12-1 was lunch in the cafeteria. We packed PB&J’s with vanilla milk. For the first time, Corey ate the sandwich cut into quarters rather than bite sized pieces. Seems like a silly statement but this is a very big accomplishment. Corey had to reach, grasp, lift, hold and take a single bite of her sandwich. Concentrate to chew, swallow and then repeat (all without choking). Take a moment to think of how many steps there are to a simple bite of a sandwich.
1-2 OT with Jeanine. Corey used the arm skate again today. This is a fun tool that allows Corey to be in control of the movement of her left arm. Jeanine was very impressed. Corey’s range of motion and control had increased just since yesterday on the movement of her shoulder and elbow.
Look for yourselves; Corey Beattie put your left arm in…
2-3 was rest time and 3-4 ST closed the day with Kate. Corey did a great job with her afternoon snack of Chocolate milk and Sugar cookies. In addition to her sweet tooth, we are working on evaluating Corey’s reading skills. Corey can spell and write any word. However, if you show her letters of the alphabet on flash cards, she does not recognize the symbols. She did not recognize category photographs either. For instance, when shown a photo of an owl, she could not identify it without verbal ques. Once the bird was identified, I asked her a question. “If an animal doesn’t sleep at night, what is that called”? Her answer was “Nocturnal”…her brain amazes me!
Corey as I watch you work with your coaches, you give 100% to each task. Not only do you work beyond their expectations, you do so with a smile and often laughter. When you get frustrated or your muscles get sore, you may react with anger but you are beginning to control your emotions to regroup, refocus and complete the task. It is very impressive to watch. I am so proud of you, xoxo