Physical Therapy

The other day at about 4:30 in the morning, Arley woke up from a sound sleep screaming in pain that her leg hurt. She described the pain as being the color "red," but wasn't able to describe it in any more detail. 

I called the pediatrician's after hours service and the advice nurse said to basically watch out for fever or an increased level of pain and to call back if either got worse. Arley had fallen back asleep by the time the nurse called back over an hour later so we decided to wait until the office opened to decide what to do next.

Eventually we went about our day and Arley didn't really mention her leg bothering her again. 

At our last Oncology appointment her doctor and I discussed how Arley still has the foot drop, still trips and falls a lot, balance is still off-kilter and the worry that we will need to get her fitted for braces again. 

He called for 12 weeks worth of Physical Therapy to see if that will help the tightness she experiences in her legs due to the side effects of the Chemotherapy and if it does that would be fabulous and if it doesn't she will have to be fitted for leg braces again.

It's a struggle as a parent to see your kid struggling too. She can't really walk for extended periods of time without her legs tiring out, struggles a bit with stairs (especially those at the playground) and then there's the fact that she trips and falls A LOT. 

So yesterday she had her first PT appointment and she did great! She walked the treadmill, did some stretching and balancing on the balance ball, did some jumping, used a tricycle, walked the balance beam and rode another contraption that mimics riding a bike. 

She seemed to enjoy the different activities. Some were easier to accomplish than others, but I'm sure by the time the 12 weeks is up she will have mastered all of them swiftly and easily.



Next up we will be heading off to Boston for a little bit, receiving second opinions and discussing different options of moving forward in other areas. Until next time...