Short Crutches

Gracie has outgrown the pink crutches. These were just loaners from Vanderbilt, so we have now ordered a taller pair of her own. Bad news: They were out of pink! We ordered purple; they should arrive any day.

While Gracie continues to perform well on her crutches, she is still fearful of falling and insists that someone be right by her side or behind her. For that reason, she is using her walker at school. She just completed her first week of school and has amazed us all! He prepared ourselves for a difficult, sad transition, but it just didn't happen. She loves her new school. She is such a star there. Everyone stops to talk to her in the hallway. I'm sure her teachers hope that will calm down soon! I believe it has helped her feel more comfortable there. Starting Tuesday, she'll stay at school all day and ride home with me. That will make for a long week but kids adjust so quickly.

Oak Hill School

Gracie has had an amazing first 2 days of pre-K! She has not had one bit of trouble with the transition to her new school. Drop-off has not been an issue, and she is just as happy when she gets picked up. This week, school only goes to 11:00 but she is still having a full week. She goes to therapy at 7 AM, goes straight to school, then she hangs out with one of her wonderful grandparents until Doug gets off work. We truly couldn't be happier with how things are going. She has even come home talking about liking some of her classmates. This thrills us since Gracie usually prefers to play alone or with adults.

"I love my new school, and I love my new teachers," she said after her first day.

Preschool Visit

Gracie toured her new classroom today! She met her teachers, Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Neely. She also met 3 or 4 of her classmates. She was thrilled with the toys in the room, especially the kitchen area. I see her spending a lot of time in that area this year. She didn't want to leave, so that's a good sign. She will return next week for half days (until 11:00). After Labor Day, she will be there all day, every day. Before going to her classroom, she stopped by my room to meet my students. They were very sweet to her. She entertained them by drawing on the board. See below.

School Starts Soon!

I went back to work today, and Gracie starts at Oak Hill next Monday. It's hard to see summer go but I'm anxious to have Gracie at school with me. She will be in loving, capable hands with Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Pratt in pre-K. Gracie will be able to get around easily in her classroom by cruising from furniture to other stable pieces. However, for the longer journeys to the gym and playground, she'll need to use her walker. She could use her crutches but for the sake of time, the walker will work best. This will also allow her teachers more freedom to leave her side when she's walking. She still wants someone close by when she uses her crutches.
For those of you who don't know, Gracie loves the show, Nanny 911. In the picture above, she is dressed up as one of the nannies.

Gone Fishing

In order to have Gracie practice standing and squatting, Heidi had her use a toy fishing pole and velcro fish. As always, Gracie negotiated how many times she would need to squat to pick out the fish she wanted to try to catch. By the end, she learned to pick out 2 fish at a time. She's such a smart girl! Later, Heidi had her walk on the pulley machine. She didn't like walking forward but she loved the way the belt pulled her backwards.

In a Box

While we were watching the olympics the other night, Gracie disappeared for a few minutes. She called us to come see her, and this is how we found her... This is a great example of her improved flexibility with her legs. She could never have lifted her legs and gotten into a chest before the surgery. Exciting!

On the Beam

Just like the competitors in the olympics, Gracie practices her walking on the beam. Her therapist has her lean against the wall and walk sideways. Gracie is enjoying watching the olympics, especially the gymnastics. She now even shows us her own floor routines.

X-rays

Doug and I took Gracie to Vanderbilt last week to have hip and leg x-rays. She needed the x-rays for our follow-up visit with Dr. Park. We will go back to see him in St. Louis on September 15th. It will be great to hear what he has to say about Gracie's progress. Gracie was not nervous about the appointment since she's had x-rays taken before.
We are preparing for school. I start back on August 18th and Gracie starts on the 25th also at Oak Hill. She will be in pre-K just down the hall from me.
We are eager to see Gracie's therapist, Laura, on Monday. She has been gone for 2 weeks. We'll be able tell her that Gracie has earned 3 stickers on her goals chart.

Other Therapist Friends

Since Laura is still away in Africa, Gracie saw Mandy today for water therapy. She knows Mandy and has always enjoyed cutting up with her, but it was still great to see Gracie perform well for her. Gracie entertained Mandy and a couple of other therapists with her standup jokes in the water. She also walked up and down the platform in the water several times. When Mandy had Gracie hold a toy behind her back she was able to walk several steps on the platform without assistance. This is always the case with Gracie. If you get her to lean forward even in the slightest way, her balance improves. However, it scares her to lean forward so you have to do it without her realizing it, like having her hold a toy behind her back. We see this with her walking also when she pretends to have the crutches. Her balance is improved and she takes more steps. As soon as she gets scared, she pops her arms up and loses her balance.

The Poster is Complete!

As you may have read in an earlier post, Gracie and I had a blast at Michael's picking out the supplies to decorate her Goals poster. Well... we finished the poster. I drew the hill, wrote the goals that Gracie helped establish, and put motivational stickers along the bottom edge. Gracie did the rest. Nana was with us, too. She assisted with opening bottles and sticker packages as well as cutting out letter stamps for Gracie to use. If you enlarge the photo, you may be able to see her goals on the hill. I will be adding smiley face stickers to the poster when Gracie achieves these goals. If you look closely, you'll see a sticker!

Take Two on the Tape

On Wednesday, Heidi put some kinesio tape on the front of Gracie's legs. The tape is supposed to give her feedback from her muscles and help her toes lift easier as she takes steps. Gracie did not like the tape. I had to take it off Wednesday night. It's intended to stay on a few days. The therapist tried the kinesio tape again this morning on the front of her left leg. We'll see how long she can handle it.