Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Allie's Gait Trainer

I felt like my heart was going to burst. The Charming and Beautiful Susan and I spent time with Allie running around in our breeze way and side walk adjacent to our apartment. Allie grins and laughs and shrieks with joy. I don't really know what to do with my emotions so I just boss her around. "Lift 'em up, lift 'em up!" I shout in my nicest drill instructor voice.

What you'll see in the video below is this kid running around in a Pacer 502 gait trainer by Rifton. Allie needs coaching to help her focus on the job. She likes to just chill on the weekends but if I have to work, she has to work.

She has one of these rigs at school, too, and I'm pretty sure she's more responsive to her teachers and physical therapists than she is to mom and dad.

Kids are kids.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Thankful for Allie's School

Allie loves school. She likes riding the bus to school. She loves arriving at school. Allie loves her teachers. And they love her. So I love them.

They make sure Allie has plenty to do every day. One of the things they have her class involved in is a garden out behind her classroom.

If you look closely at the tray attached to Allie's chair, you'll see a large red disc. That's a button. When Allie pushes the button, she waters the plants.

Allie lets everybody know how excited she is to be outside in the garden with the power to water plants at her fingertips.

Another day out in the garden with one of Allie's favorite teacher's aide's.

Ready. Set. Spray.

Today Allie stands and helps water the plants growing our behind her classroom.

You can't believe how this makes my heart explode to watch her stand tall with assistance and enjoy doing some work.



Susan and I were reflecting over the weekend on some of the initial predictions about how life was going to be for Allie. One doctor was always particularly negative. When Allie was in a coma, he told me not to expect her to ever emerge from the coma. When she did come out of the coma, he told me to never expect that she would be much more than a vegetable. As Allie showed more and more promise, he expressed, reluctantly it seemed, surprise, but he told us to expect to have serious behavioral issues.

Allie continues to grow and exceed all anyone ever expected from her life. Her behavior is continually joy-filled expressions of affection and contagiously positive personality. I wish that doctor could see her now.