Casting: Almost Over

Well, only the first round of serial casting that is. Tomorrow we are scheduled to return to Oia's ortho doctor for the removal of both casts. I am trying to keep my excitement to a minimum as I suspect she will have to be recasted; at least the right leg. We shall see.

A little recap...
During the first couple of days, we made our way out for a couple of small shopping adventures. I'm a mission shopper, meaning I get what's on my list and get out so shopping doesn't always appeal to me but when Oia was reluctant to even let her feet touch the ground in the first few days, shopping (rather wandering) around the mall sounded like a good idea. She was happy to ride in her stroller, greet strangers, and it got us out of the house.

After about 5-6 days into casting, Oia was almost back to her mobile self. Still clingy but willing to walk more but still wanted to be carried too. Carrying Oia is something I have to do frequently considering our circumstances but I'm not as willing to do it as often as I used to, especially as she gets older and heavier. We have a chair for her in every room and I try to encourage her to sit and take a break instead of being held by me so much. The last two weeks have really challenged that.


We've taken some bike rides, wagon rides, and went to a local carnival. She rode 'big girl' rides and loved every minute of it.




We've continued all therapies; ST, OT, PT and hippotherapy because life does go on.


All in all, it's been a doable two weeks. Thanks to the heat though, indoors is mainly where we've stayed since I assume that casts in the middle of July would feel like a toasty pair of snow boots. No lake, no beach, no park, no pool. We're both going a little nutty.

Thankfully, the sleepless nights appear to be behind us. Not totally back to normal but much, much better. I shared the sleep issue with Oia's PT and she too agreed that Oia's muscles were probably achy, thus making rest and sleep difficult. In addition, with her calf muscles pulled and held in a position that they normally are not in means that all the other muscles in Oia's legs are being used in a different way as well. The fact that Oia is sleeping better now can be a sign that her muscles have indeed stretched and relaxed some in just 2 weeks. I'm eager to see those skinny, little legs again tomorrow to witness this for myself.

So by lunch tomorrow, Oia will have had an ortho appointment, an OT session, and a PT session. Just another day around here...