Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Davy is going to rehab

At least that's what it's called at Choc. When we check in, I say it's for rehab, and then I giggle, cuz Baby rehab sounds funny. Then we travel down to the hospital basement with all of the other baby junkies.

This has been our first full week of hardcore therapy. I'm talking 7X's a week therapy. I have to say, I'm pretty beat, so I can only imagine how Davy feels. I hope this becomes a "normal" for us, cuz it's been hard to juggle.

The main reason we are in the basement is for vital stem or e-stim. I have heard mix reviews on this. My cousin called it owiE-stim, cuz her son screamed the whole time. Then my SIL told me it wasn't so bad, but she is an adult.......so....... yeah.

Well the first session, I was pleasantly surprised. Davy cried just at the very end. So, I thought, Davy is rock star, this is nothin.

Spoke to soon Ruthy.

She cried a little more in the second session and then even more in the third. I will say, she used to cry harder in Physical therapy, so I'm not too phased by her tears. But I don't want this to be bummer for her either. So hopefully things will get better.

You can see below how they hook up these little pads to her neck and send little currents to her throat. She gets pretty ticked off when we have to take that tape off. You can see how she is not to thrilled about it either.
After e- stim we drive over to health bridge for OT and PT. Just when I thought OT was starting to get healthier foods, they pull out frosting, cheese whiz and Jello.
In a matter of seconds Davy looked like this(see below pic). She took one bite of frosting and she was hooked. She slathered it on like a bath and body lotion. Good thing she had her new larger bib on, thanks again Summer!
Then for dessert Davy had her first pixie stick. She wasn't to into it but it did help her with her mouth closure. After OT we have a half hour break so I can feed her some real food then we have PT. Which daaang, she is getting by really well. She lasts 45 minutes, which is a very long time for a little bird like her.

SO, this is our schedule, twice a week and with one more in house PT sesh on Fridays. I'm trying to see if it's better to compact a lot in one day or if we should spread it out more. We'll see, we'll see. It's all up to Miss Davy. I hope she votes for compact though.



10 comments:

BriBedell said...

You my friend are a rockstar. Davy's after picture with the chocolate frosting is hilarious. She looks like she either robbed a bank or won the lottery :) either way she's 'winning' lol

Wordfiend said...

I agree: you and Davy are rock stars.

I've done the OT, then PT, then Speech therapy thing with my kids as well. I don't know whether doing it all in one long session is better or not. Certainly, the little ones get tired after so much work, but it is nice if you can manage a day or two per week where you don't have to drag everyone to clinics.

But I DO know that, no matter how you slice it, it is just darned exhausting.

whitneyingram said...

Fascinating. Moms with children who have special needs have a whole other life I know nothing about. I have three healthy children and I already feel so busy and overwhelmed. So I see you doing this and I want to give you a chest bump. Holla.

Jessica Crozier said...

I want to know more about the stim…is it stim to help swallow skills? I just had stim on my shoulder today, and it is a weird feeling. Wondering if it's the same kind of tingly feeling for her. I can't imagine that it would be too comfortable on her throat. She's a trooper, though,as are you, and I'm sure she (and you) will fall into an "easy" routine!

Christy said...

haha. I'm totally laughing out loud at Whitney's comment. Ruth, props to you guys for all that you do. You are so amazing! It is a lot and I thought my once a week Speech Therapy was encroaching. I love the food they are giving her. Come on. If she has to put up with all the crap she does, she might as well have some amazing food to reward her. Kinda makes me want to go to OT.

Christy said...

Oh and you know what song is now going through my head. "They tried to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no!" Thanks. That's gonna be in my head for the rest of the day. :)

Debby said...

In the first picture she just looks miserable. But she loves that crazy food. So funny. You both are rock stars.

Georgia said...

She is the sweetest little bird I know.

Ora said...

Estem as an adult is fab.. not on the throat. I bet it is irritating more than painful. If it's anything like how mine felt, towards the end it's almost itchy/fall asleep limb feeling. Imagining that sensation on my neck doesn't seem pleasant. I really hope it does help. Sounds like OT is going to be her FAVORITE ;) Who in their right mind would not love chocolate frosting?

I'm a compact visit kind of person. for some reason it doesn't feel like it takes as long, even though it probably does. Good luck with your scheduling (as you can tell - been out of the blogging world for a while - glad to see your still alive)

Smilen Champ said...

Hi
my name is Jenna and I came across your site. Davy is an amazing, precious and special earthly angel. She is a courageous, strong and determined fighter. She is a brave warrior, smilen champ and inspirational hero. I was born with a rare life threatening disease, and love it when others sign my guestbook. www.miraclechamp.webs.com