The Great Update

Actual Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Parker is nuts over this car.  Every single day we go to physical therapy he runs for it as soon as he sees it.  Miss Nikki has had to start hiding it before he gets there because he doesn't ever want to do anything else once he gets on it.  Obviously on this day she forgot and he spotted it right away.

This is what I love about Our Children's House (the place Parker goes for therapy), they make it fun for the kids.  You would think by just looking at the picture 'How could riding a car really be beneficial for him?' but it's not just any ordinary car.  It's full of sand and it's really hard to move.  Sometimes they even add weights to it and have him push it around.  

His other favorite thing is Elmo, and there's no shortage of him at OCH.  I seriously think they have like 100 different Elmo's that do 100 different things. 

This one he's been working with lately.  Apparently Parker's fine motor skills are advanced for his age.  The doctors and other therapists that have looked at him say that this is probably because he wasn't able to be very mobile for a lot of his little life.  So he focused on the things he could do without a lot of movement, like puzzles and that is probably what built up the fine motor part of his brain quicker.  

It helps out  a lot in his PT because Miss Nikki can bring out a lot of different toys for him to choose from instead of just the standard "baby toys."  This Elmo is a fun one.  It's kinda like Mr. Potato Head.  It has all these pieces that you can snap on Elmo and turn him into something silly like a elephant, a funky chicken or even a Grandpa with hairy ears and a sweater vest.  It also says silly things depending on what piece you add.  I have to admit it is pretty silly but Parker thinks it's the funniest thing ever. 

Also,

Fast forward to the Thursday of this week (1/27): Parker had his appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon to discuss why his right foot turns out.  We went to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth to meet with him and when we checked in they told us that the Dr. was running 2 hours behind...  That was fun with all three kids.  Luckily Brian was there to help and they have a pretty great waiting room with toys, books and video games.  

After meeting and talking with Dr. Kennedy about the timeline of everything that's gone on with Parker he said he wanted to take some of his own x rays because the original ones we had done were not very clear.  So I headed back with Parker to get the films done and Brian stayed with the girls.  Parker was being a silly boy like usual.  The lady had him lay down on the table and then she had me hold his legs in the position they needed to be for the x ray.  Then she headed out of the room to go into the control room to take the picture.  She said over the speaker "Ok Parker, are you ready to get your picture made?"  And because he's my child, and because his Mommy is worse than the paparazzi, Parker said "Cheese!"

After that we discussed the new x rays with the doctor and he showed us that the x rays show that he in fact does NOT have Hip Dysplasia.  He said that he thinks that reason that right legs turns out still is because his whole right side is significantly weaker than the left because he had the Torticollis on the right.

Dr. Kennedy says that he is confident that now that Parker is walking... oh my goodness, I don't think I ever posted that he is walking now!  I was trying to figure out how to post the video and I never got back around to it! Here's the video of the very first time he walked (Saturday, January 8th). 

It came out of no where.  The physical therapist told me to try hold onto his legs to try to give him just a little bit of support instead to holding his hands or trunk.  That way he feels safe because someone has hands on him, he was so scared of falling but he is still doing all the work.  So that's what we did as we walked down the hall to get his tooth brush from Daddy that night.  Except, when we got a few steps away from the bathroom I slowly moved my hands away and there he went.  He just kept on walking.  On his own!  He didn't even notice I didn't have him.

Brian the girls and I all started freaking out.  I could hardly believe it.  I had to see it again!  So we took him out to the living room and had him walk back and forth between us.  And that's where the video above came from.  I love the part where Brooke says "Do it several times!"  I love that the girls were as proud of him as we were. I also love that he was proud of himself and clapped.  That's the cutest part of the whole thing. 

Good job little man!  It's been a long time coming and you've worked hard to get here.  Daddy and Mommy are so very proud of you.

Continuing on with what the Dr. said... he said that now that he's walking he thinks the leg will get stronger and start to turn in.  He said to continue with PT and just keep him walking because walking is going to be the best exercise for him right now.  The PT asked us to ask him about "Hip Helpers" which is basically like a girdle for the hips that helps keep things aligned the way they should be as they learn to walk.  Dr. Kennedy said that if we wanted we could use it but he should be fine without it.

But he did say that he wanted to see him back in 4 months to make sure that the leg has made progress.  If it is still turning out he said he will refer us to a Neurologist because at that point it would mean it had something to do with his Brian.  He did say that he doesn't believe that is the case because he uses his right arm so good and if it was Neurological, that right arm would probably be effect as well.  

Sorry that was a whole lotta info for one little post.  But if you made it to this point, congratulations.  This is exactly the reason why I need to get up to date on here.  It's so hard to keep everything straight and remember everything when you get so far behind!