March 8

It was my first day at Kennedy-Krieger! I'm so excited for this next chapter and my day was everything I had hoped it would be. I started with my new OT, Jen. We mostly just talked about where I'm at- what I can and can't do and then did a lot of evaluating. I did the grip and pinch tests I've done so many times over the past few months. I also did other fine motor tests. Pretty much everything was normal or on the lower end of normal with a little room for improvement. I was surprised to see that I have a slight coordination deficit, but that's just something for us to work on. They're going to give me a small stim unit with electrodes to use on my hands and build up the muscles and muscle memory...I'll do it 3-5x/week for 30 minutes.

I'm impressed with everything at this facility...it's so wheelchair accessible. There are a lot of ramps, the elevators and hallways are wide, there are easy to reach buttons for the doors, and even all the tables in the lunch area are height adjustable. 

My PT's name is Becky. I absolutely loved our session (which is good because we were together for three hours!) She did a full assessment, checking for tone and range of motion and rating it based on how much was present. She didn't rate anything a 0, meaning she felt something everywhere! I can't tell you how many times therapists have said "I think I feel something, but it's probably abs." I haven't gotten confirmation that I have that movement before. Becky said she felt something and knew it was just my hips because how of I was positioned. She has so many ideas and wants to try so many things- like different stim machines, custom orthotic braces to sleep in and keep my ankles stretched, lots of gait exercises, some type of taping?, and I'm going to be measured for the exoskeleton. 

She described all of this in a way I hadn't thought about it before...when lifting weights, you don't start with a heavy weight. You have to start small and work your way up. My legs are heavy, it's like trying to start with a really heavy weight. 

She had started our time together by saying "I want to see you get into the mat without my help." I laughed and said "I want to see that too" haha. I surprised even myself and did an independent transfer! Granted, I did a little more sliding than I should have because I'm still a little scared to lean too far forward, which is what I should do in order to get a better lift...but I still did it on my own! She said we'll work on transfers and leaning a lot in the pool, where I'll feel more comfortable and there isn't anywhere for me to fall. Hopefully I'll overcome that fear this way. 

At the end of our session, we went over to the parallel bars. Becky sat in front of me with her knees blocking my knees. She also had a harness-like thing she put behind my hips to kind of hold me up, but said she didn't want to have to pull much on it or have to help me. I stood up, just like I do with the walker in the pool. I had no idea I could do that! I feel like I learned so much and so many news doors are being opened. I can't wait to work hard and see what happens!