Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Constriant Therapy and an attempt at a movie in a theater. Fun times.

It is hot here in Southern California. Leaves us a bit limited on our activities. Especially outdoor ones, with Zoey and her inability to sweat. The boys were wandering aimlessly around the house when lucky for them, and perhaps lucky for me, my good friend stopped by and shuttled them off to a day of swimming at her house. That left Zoey and I on our own and why for the life of me, I decided today would be a good day to attempt her first movie at a theater, I have no idea. But off we went, my brave girl and I, to see, 'Brave'.

Epic fail.  To say the least. Charlotte and Caitlin are there as I write this and beside me is a hysterically crying 5 1/2 year old. Still. An hour later. Yep, I would call that a fail. Good news, received a refund on our tickets. Went to the counter, tried to explain her sensory issue to the sweet enough but clueless and couldn't care less, teenager working the ticket counter. She looked at my tickets and asked, "Did you pay for her?" To which I said, "Yes." To which she said, "Why? How old is she?" I say, " 5 1/2" and she says, Really?? Are you sure?"  Yep, pretty sure. Not like I haven't heard that one before. Doesn't even phase me anymore. Just wish I could come up with some sarcastic comeback for the future. That or maybe start sneaking her into things as an 'under 3'. Maybe that's the way to go.

This week we began using Zoey's removable cast. And so begins constraint therapy. We are suppose to use it 2-3 hours a day. Yeah, not gonna happen. Mainly because there is no way she will tolerate it for that long. She was a trooper though and I think it will be all about finding the right objects/games/activities to peak her interest, and maybe eventually she will build to that kind of time. The therapy requires me to be engaged with her one on one for the entire time she has it on and that, well, that will be a challenge as well. You see, I tend to be a self admitted therapy slacker but with this, I really need to chisel out the time. Zoey definitely is becoming more and more aware of the fact that she does indeed have another arm and now is the time to jump on that and see if we can't spark some new pathways and stimulate her brain to take over some of that lost function due to her stroke. We shall see. Its a start. 


And, the funny thing was, when she had tired of engaging in activities, we tried to take the cast off and the child wanted nothing to do with it. Go figure.


12 comments:

Merideth said...

Every time I see Zoey, I am awestruck by how beautiful she is!! She is AWESOME!!!!

Reagan Leigh said...

Wow...you ARE a trooper! With all you've been through of late, still giving it a go with a challenging new therapy (for both Zoey and mom)!!! I hope your sister knows you are spending at least a day or two with us when you come to visit?!?! Been thinking of you and Miss Z all day! Too bad the the movie was a fail...never tried one with Reagan (and afraid to now)!!

The VW's said...

Love seeing Zoey videos!!! She is so cute, and so smart!

I hope the therapy goes well! It sounds like a great idea, but I totally relate to being bad with therapy! It's so hard to fit it in, plus it's just not fun!

It's funny how different our kiddos can be. Gavin freaks out when we put him in water or take him to most sporting events, but he LOVES going to a movie theater! You just never know with our special kiddos! They like to keep us guessing, and make sure we aren't bored, huh?! Hugs!

Kristin said...

"All done." Love it. Max only likes movies if there is a lot of music. And even then he can't do a full movie. We go to the dollar movies and sit through half and then go again another day and go late to hit the other half.
I am suppose to be working with Max 'prepping' him for speech therapy next month. Ugh. Think I've done it about 3% of the time. I hate doing therapy at home!

blogzilly said...

"we tried to take the cast off and the child wanted nothing to do with it."

Are you SURE?

;)

Anonymous said...

Looks like she was really trying to use other hand. made me smile when she didn't want you take it off! Time will do it I guess. love seeing videos of Miss Zoey.

Hope all is well with you

Bluebelle
PS 23 days over 90 here in Syracuse
keep telling myself , think about 6 months ahead. February - snow, snow, snow makes the heat easier to take

Salinas family said...

Hope you see great things with this new therapy!Loved the pictures and the video - she is beautiful, and I love the feisty-ness too! I think I heard in the background some discussion about where to get the tape? The cheapest place I've found it is at a store like C.A.L. Ranch or IFA or some kind of feed store. And they usually have lots of different colors. Much cheaper there than at Target or Walmart, etc.
Thanks for sharing Zoey with us! She (and you!) are loved by so many!!!
Karen

Rochelle said...

Still cracking up that she wanted to keep the cast on! Go Zoey!

Justine said...

Girlfriend cracks me up! Could she be any cuter?!? That video made my day!

Shelly Turpin said...

Oh cute Zoey! She and Bella are so much alike! From the "don't overstim me" to the "don't make me do anything I don't want to!" Her favorite word right now is "Nah!"

Bea Braun said...

Love the video!!! She is talking so much more! I don't blame Zoey for freaking out in Brave. That was an intense and very loud movie! She needs something like Curious George. Peaceful and calm. She'll get there. One day you'll be sitting in a theater and glance over at her and remember your first attempt at Brave and smile at how far she's come.

Jeana said...

That is so funny that she asked you, "really"? Um yea, pretty sure I know how old my kid is. I say go for the under 3 thing, I know I'm going to milk it until Kaelyn is a least half the size of a 3 year old ;) I hope this therapy helps her and that you have the time/patients/desire to do it. I have a hard time being the mommy therapist too.