Spasticity or muscular hypertonicity is a disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) in which certain muscles continually receive a message to tighten and contract. The nerves leading to those muscles, unable to regulate themselves (which would provide for normal muscle tone), permanently and continually "over-fire" these commands to tighten and contract. This causes stiffness or tightness of the muscles and interferes with gait and movement, and sometimes speech.
Spasticity is most common in spastic diplegia and other forms of spastic cerebral palsy, where it is a result of damage to the brain's basal ganglia that is permanent and neither improves nor worsens over time
This very same doctor also runs a clinic specializing in children with Cerebral Palsy with Spastic Diplegia! A true blessing indeed. We immediately made an appointment for Nicholas at the clinic. Until then he was to wear his one brace and continue business as usual.
The appointment was January 11th.
Imagine if you will a small exam room with Nicholas, his mommy, his daddy, his pediatric neurologist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a nurse, a social worker and an orthotics specialist; all trying to figure out the best course of action for Nicholas.
After some deliberation it was decided Nicholas should have a brace on each leg. Having the brace on just his right leg has been causing his left ankle to twist, almost to the point of a spraining or breaking!
They also prescribed another medication to help him move more easily….the medical stuff is on a need to know basis…so if you need to know, just ask us and we will seriously consider telling you…..
We then had another appointment to get his new braces started
On January 18th we went to the Orthotics specialist. She made a cast of each leg. The cast will be used to custom make his braces, which should be done in 3 weeks or less. Once they are finished we shall go see how well they fit and whether or not more adjustments are needed…..if no adjustments are needed, Nicholas will get to drive them off the lot and take them home.
Once he gets used to having support on both legs we have been assured that Nicholas will be……wait for it……even faster! Yeehaa. Say a small prayer for his parents to be able to keep up with him and for our cat to stay away from him. Nicholas loves our cat (Snickers) but has not yet been able to master the art of softly petting her…this makes her very hesitant to enter into his personal space…although one day Lisa said she heard Snickers making a very unusual noise…you know, the one a cat makes when a 50 pound 4 year old boy with a grip of steel is holding them by the tail 14 inches off the ground. God’s speed Snickers, God's speed!
Nicholas has been going to Pre-school since January 5th. He has missed one day due to a surprise snow and ice storm, one day for a Doctor appointment and one day for Doctor King’s birthday.
So far it seems quite apparent he LOVES going to school. Each day we receive a one page progress report telling us his mood during the 3 hours, what centers he went to, what he played with the most, whether or not he went to the restroom, how much of his lunch he ate, etc, etc….It is a wonderful snap shot of his day. Each day he has been deemed HAPPY! This is one indication of his current feelings towards school.
Another indicator is when Lisa can barely get him to stop long enough at the front door of the classroom to get his back pack off! He sprints into the classroom each day with a giant smile on his face.
One other ever more telling indicator is his behavior when Lisa picks him up at the end of the day. He routinely pouts and continues to play in the hope he will be able to stay. Once she manages to get him out of the classroom he likes to lay down so he doesn’t have to leave…..rest assured these “episodes” will be retold to him when he is trying to get out of taking his Chemistry exam in middle school.
Since I recently described a negative experience at our neighborhood playground, I thought I would tell of a positive experience. Last Monday, he and I went to the playground and met a 6 year old boy named Corbin who lives very close to the playground. He and Nicholas played together for a while. Once I explained to Corbin that Nicholas was still learning English, he seemed to watch out for him and even told him to be careful with a certain toy so he did not get hurt. When Corbin’s mother (and younger sister) arrived I made sure to tell her how nice her son was to Nicholas. They live a few houses down from us so I am sure we will see them again real soon.
Lastly from time to time Nicholas hears words that make him giggle uncontrollably for NO reason…
Here are the last few:
Jeans, six, pointing, quiet*
He really loves YELLING the word QUIET….someday I will explain the irony.
And now some pictures....
Our most recent trip to our favorite zoo...The world famous Fort Worth Zoo....standing room only!
Since it was little cool we were able to see the Cheetah for the first time with Nicholas...upon seeing the large cat he said, "Touch it." Maybe some day!
Another cat Nicholas wanted to pet....
We have never seen this fox before! It is usually hiding....again, I think the cooler weather helped bring him out to see us.
Nicholas trying to get a Lorakeet to land on his finger...he was not successful.
Climbing on the giant alligator statue..
Walking on the giant alligator statue with Grandpa and Daddy.
Having a great time at the zoo, wish you were here!
Using a Christmas gift from his Uncle Andy, Aunt Sabrina...The smock is from his cousin Sarah.
Wearing Daddy's jacket is fun!
Making faces at Grandma Janice is also fun.
Watching TV in your pijamas while sitting on the couch and petting your puppy is a great way to spend a Saturday morning.
Nicholas loves sitting and spinning in the special chair Grandpa got him for Christmas....
He also enjoys the solitude it affords him after a long day at pre-school. It gives him time to unwind, reflect on the days events and decide which toy to play with next.
Grandpa also got Nicholas an outdoor swing! This is a picture of him sitting in it for the first time once it was installed on our patio. The height would be adjusted at a later date...
Same swing...during the day and lowered to the proper swinging height. He loves to swing and spin outside while Mommy and Daddy are doing yard work.
Here is his first "take-home" assignment...making a snowman! Mommy and Daddy helped with cutting and glue application, the rest was up to him.
1 comment:
I bet it's weird for him NOT to be surrounded by other children. I'm glad he's loving school so much! Hopefully he'll have lots of neighborhood kids to play with.
-Sophie
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