Two weeks down, two to go with CIT!

Toward the end of last week, Frankie had a Physical Therapy session and it went great. She had another OT session to follow. We drove back home and I was certain she would conk out in the car. Nope…she stayed up because she was so excited to go home and see Daddy, Paco and all her toys.

I must tell this story before posting about our progress this week. Over this past weekend, Frankie and I went to Panera as usual. We were asked by a couple of people, “What happened to her arm?” We have been asked this countless times and I either give people the short version, or I give them the longer version. I actually like educating people about Frankie’s condition and this fabulous program that we are in. There was one lady that really got my attention. She looked at Frankie and said with her British accent (that I’m so envious of,) “Oh sweetie…what happened to your arm? Are you in PAIN?” I looked at her and smiled and said, “No, she’s not in pain. Her arm is just fine. We are trying to get her other arm stronger. Her right side is not as strong as her left.” She looked at Frankie’s eyes and said, “You are so beautiful, oh my goodness! Can I have your glasses? I love your outfit!” She just showered her with sweet compliments and held her face with her hand.

It was soon after I had an Aha moment. I know I may over analyze things at times, so I suddenly realized why this sweet lady was so concerned about Frankie’s arm.  I know most people may be curious to see a child in a cast and many are concerned, but if you could have heard this kind lady stress the word PAIN, it may have made you think a little deeper? So here I am, in deep thought looking back….Right before the lady approached us, there were so many people at Panera waiting for their food and Frankie and I were in the way when people were trying to pass by. I would grab her arms like I usually do to guide her away from the people traffic. I have no doubt that the lady saw me grabbing Frankie’s right arm with the cast and felt sorry for her thinking that I was hurting her arm even more! I guess I need to be careful doing this in public.

The weekend went by fast and as scheduled, Frankie and I arrived in Charlottesville on Sunday. There was a big football game here over the weekend so we had to wait for our room to be ready an extra two hours. Once we got unpacked, we headed out to our little Mexican restaurant and turned in early...after watching Frozen...for the 200th time.

On Monday, it was time to remove last week’s cast. The cast was to be removed, her arm cleaned, allowing it to breathe. So Mamarazzi was in the room, OF COURSE and I happened to snap a few pictures. The look on Frankie's face says it all.  

Prior to getting the cast off, I had already prepared her and told her that she would be re-casted soon after. Immediately after the removal, Frankie quickly opened her left hand and just stared at it for close to a minute. “Where have you been?” she asked. Well, not really. But she would have if she had gotten over the initial shock. After the arm was cleaned, we left the cast off for about 15 minutes and did some bimanual activities. Those fifteen minutes went by so fast!

It was time to put the cast back on after picking out our fun casting tape for the week. (Thank you, Danielle!) As we struggled to put the cast back on, Frankie was upset for about a minute but she quickly got over it. She amazes me! We then went back into the therapy gym and played with magnets and Playdo using her right hand, ESTIM and her snazzy leopard cast! After lunch, Frankie and I walked to the downtown mall. She walked, and walked. (Her favorite pastime.)  

Tuesday rolled around and we had Speech and OT. I’m so thankful to have this amazing Speech therapist join our village and help prompt Frankie to use more action words along with teaching her many other things! Frankie’s ST was amazed at her use of compound words & sentences this week. She tends to use one word demands a lot so we are trying to get her out of that.
Frankie was asked a question during our session and had a very sassy answer. Aside from that,I was so amazed to see her point with one finger on her right hand to answer the next question! My mama always taught me it's not polite to point at people! This was more than OK and is SO AMAZING!!!

After Speech, Ms Sue came to our hotel for another OT session with ESTIM. Our biggest goal this week has been to get some wrist extension with Frankie's right hand. Sue calls this “wrist wrinkling!” I love it. Before Frankie is able to isolate each individual finger, the wrist needs to be strengthened. Not surprisingly, Frankie's is very weak. Atrophy sets in when the muscles aren't used. Pushing and pulling things are great ways to get the wrist stronger.This is why Sue has Frankie push the little shopping cart a lot. On Tuesday, she hid plastic strawberries in drawers and asked Frankie to find them. The strawberries were hidden and Frankie picked them up with her right hand and put them in a basket. Proud moment for Mama! She has been using the right hand A LOT! She doesn’t have a choice now. She has to.

We ended our week with a nice session from our fabulous PT, "Ms. Emi." Frankie got ESTIM on her legs again and worked on climbing. It's even more difficult for her to climb since her dominant hand is in a cast but she was so determined and did very well.I have to say it's nice to be here during therapy sessions because I like to see what the therapists are doing so I can incorporate some of the activities at home. OT, PT and Speech are not just sessions with professionals. They have become our life now at home. Mom & Dad are now unlicensed therapists. =)

I keep being reminded what a very dear friend of mine, Rachelle once told me. “Don’t EVER feel sorry for Francesca. Let her do things on her own. Don’t ever pity her.” It has been so hard to sit back and watch Frankie struggle to do things other kids her age can do. These last 2 weeks have been even more difficult. In my heart and mind I know that this is the best therapy program for Frankie and that we are doing what we can to help her be the best person she can be in the long run.This is what keeps me going along with the fine people in our village. We’re so happy & blessed to be here at UVA. All we can do is try to give her the best tools and resources that are available and just continue to ride the wave! I must thank you, friends and family as well for all of your support! You don’t know how much it means to me to read “GO Frankie!” and other sweet words of encouragement. I’m feeling extremely blessed.