Double the Love: Euro-Peds Comes to an End

Today was Alex’s last day at Euro-Peds. He started back on November 7,2012 and was supposed to be done at the end of January, but they extended his program an extra month because of how well he was doing. (I also think the girls couldn’t handle saying good-bye to his super cuteness!)

Back in October when he had his evaluation he couldn’t sit for more than 30 seconds tops. Now, he can sit for up to an hour at home on the floor playing with his toys or while watching TV – sometimes longer.

I had two goals for him when he entered the program. 1. To be able to sit on his own and 2. To be able to get into the sitting position from lying on the floor. He fulfilled one of those goals and I couldn’t be happier.

You may not realize how important your core muscles are. You need them to be strong in order to do so many things such as sitting, balancing, getting into a sitting position, standing up from a sitting position, walking, crawling and so many more. If Alex had strength in his core then he would be able to do so many of these things. That is why I am not surprised that he cannot YET get into the sitting position because of how long it has taken him to just sit on his own. I believe some day he will though.

When I look at him sitting on his own, it warms my heart. I think I smile every time I look downstairs from the kitchen and see his little body sitting up, balancing and playing with his toys. He has no idea how proud we are of him.

He has begun to tolerate four point. It is a very hard position for him (all fours) because it requires a lot of upper body strength and with his high tone through his arms it’s hard for him to control it. He does better if he is on a ball but over time I am sure he will be able to do it on the floor.

The program in my eyes was a success. It came at the perfect time since my regular PT was leaving on maternity leave for three months. I am very grateful we were able to attend the program instead of missing out on PT for three months. We plan on going back in the fall for another three month stint. Right now there are 100 people on the wait list! That is insane, but the program is one of a kind and I would recommend it to anyone out there who receives Physical Therapy for a disability.

We will be returning to our regular PT sessions in a week or so. Alex went for his evaluation last week and Kate was pretty impressed with Alex’s progress. She loved his sitting, made him show her four point and when she put him in the gait trainer he took off!! She couldn’t believe her eyes! I am looking forward to going back. She is very good at what she does.

He had the BEST day today. He was laughing so hard when he was walking in his gait trainer (which he did twice) and he also rode his bike which he can now pedal on his own while stopping for some breaks. He got an award for completing the program, a T-shirt to sport around this summer and a bowling set! He had a crowd around him and he was hamming it up as usual. He left a lasting impression for sure.