Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A Modified Approach

Modified belly time
In addition to the serial castings that Liam receives in effort to increase mobility in the joints of his legs, he must also receive aggressive therapy not only to work the joints in his upper extremities, but also to help him reach major milestones that are expected of all infants his age. His joint restrictions make meeting certain milestones more difficult, such as the ever important belly time.

We have had to make several modifications to help him achieve such milestones and while he may not entirely achieve them in the average time window of most infants, his milestones are certainly emerging through the efforts in his therapy sessions. Because of the joint restrictions in his arms, Liam cannot raise his arms over his head or even very far out to the sides of his body (such as in a wingspan motion). But one thing I have learned on our journey so far is that if a baby wants to do something (and Liam is no exception), then that baby will do it. Even though I don't need reminding that he is a normal baby, he does seem determined to remind us that he is just as motivated to learn to function as though there are no restrictions to his movement. In short, Liam is driven to succeed, no matter the obstacle.

Below is a video demonstrating the restrictions in the joints of Liam's arms. He cannot bend his elbows as the tendons are so short, they do not bend at all.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh how wonderful!! Love you both

Anonymous said...

I just keep watching this over and over! Cant get enough of seeing him do that. God is so amazing! He is making Liam stronger and stronger!