April antics

Well where does one start with such a vast emotional roller-coaster of success and challenges, highs and lows?

Physical achievements

Ball throwing into a large basket is going very well, especially now that Kev has retrained his right hand to not only throw, but to let go. Two completely different actions following each other spontaneously. Nine times out of ten it's a goal!

Perfected cross-crawling - what originally took 15 mins to cover, he managed in record time of just over 1 minute within only 7 days. April saw Kev determined to manage this level of independence. Cross-crawling is fantastic because having both the left and right hemispheres working in harmony exercises the brain! He even crawls backwards when necessary.

Wonderful transferring from bed to chair, chair to bed, floor to chair, chair to floor, bed to floor, floor to bed, chair to bus and cars with minimal assistance. These skills have been witnessed by many others.

By mid-April Kev was requesting to get into the front seat of the bus (quite a feat for even the mobile). He initiated and organised the transfer, and I followed his lead to do so – his efforts were very successful, not to mention great for his sense of achievement.

He also developed an independent technique for transferring from his massage chair into his wheelchair, pulling the chair over and sitting on the arm of the massage chair, then with many small manoeuvres getting himself into the wheelchair. The first attempt took 10 mins, but he showed no level of frustration and displayed complete perseverance. Take a look at this!

Other developments

• Lifting the footpads on his wheelchair to propel it by moving his feet.
• We developed a “buddy walking” system where Kev puts his arms around the shoulders of two people and walks in this fashion; this gives him a great stretch and helps him stand tall.
• Wheeling up and down ramps independently.
• Jean’s friend has kindly leant us a standing frame that he made. It attaches to the bench. So far Kev has only been able to use it a couple of times, but it will be great to use in the future to assist in reverting the footdrop.
• Initiates walking down stairs using buddy walking; there are just two steps, but it’s very successful and we are really proud of him!
• Not at all keen on showering, and getting frustrated with shaving at times. Maybe this is related to repair of the axonal diffusion, which causes nerve damage throughout the body?