It's been three full days since Oia's casts were removed. These three days have been difficult. We were a little fooled in the immediate hours post casting; Oia walked well and with little trouble and seemed to not have any discomfort or soreness. Aside from that, the results were just what we were hoping for (and still are).
Then day one post casts is when things shifted a bit. Oia would not walk. She would become upset when I would put her down and make her walk. She would just find something near to hold onto, whine, and remain standing there until I can back to her rescue. It's obvious too that she was bearing most of her weight on her left leg (her stronger leg). With some coaxing and a hand held, she'd try to walk but would step with a limp. Her gait seems different to us.
Days two and three post casts have been no different.
Rob contacted her ortho doc today and he assured us this is not uncommon. Mainly two reasons...
1. Her muscles are just plain sore. Period. Think about it. No one is sore immediately following an intense workout. Generally, you feel pretty good. It's not usually until the next day that one might feel the soreness or stiffness from that workout. Same scenario with Oia; the casting period was her 'workout'.
2. Walking for Oia during this time challenges her balance because she's learning to control her muscles new range of motion. It's a lot to take in for a little one with CP.
Keeping her AFO and shoes on seems to help quite a bit (which we do anyways). She'd rather resort to a crawl right now without them.
Not sure how long this will last. The hardest thing for us to do right now is actually the best thing for Oia. We must gently force her to walk. It's not easy to see her limp and stumble but we know it's in her best interest to push her on. She has to fight through it, stay as loose as possible, and walk. Luckily, she's one of the toughest cookies I know.
This video shows Oia walking, still in her pj's, about an hour after waking this morning. Thankfully, her hobble does get better as the day goes on but you get the idea of how this must feel to her.
Ya know, I thought right away, when you posted that the casts were off, that her little muscles must be sore! She's doing so good tho! I hope she feels back to normal soon :)
ReplyDeleteGosh. That must be tough. You learn to walk one way and then the everything changes! In the end, though, I'm sure it will be good for her--just gotta get through the rough part!
ReplyDeletePoor sweet thing! I know it must kill you to have to be stoic! She is so tough, she will overcome this! Hugs, Mo!
ReplyDeleteWhat a trooper that girl is! Hang in there, Mo and Oia - sounds like better days are ahead!
ReplyDeleteOh, I just want to pick her up and carry her. This seems like a really tough phase but once she can put her feet down all the way and the soreness is gone, I bet she'll be unstoppable!
ReplyDeletelove your blog, just found you from Gavin's blog. Your daughter is beautiful and I love your descriptions. I can definitely relate.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she IS sore! Poor baby! Hope to read an update soon that she is walking pain-free again!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about these challenges, but crossing my fingers for progression the doctors are expecting. Go Oia!!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom calls that, "morning legs." I don't know how it started but it doesn't seem to end. She might be too young for this but you can always try to "be her mirror." She probably doesn't know how or why something's different or off, or how to correct it. Someone else needs to point it out.
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