"What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters
compared to what lies within us."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Best Therapy


Forget the speech flash cards and the painful stretches, I have found the way to Victoria's heart - swimming!!! It is such a delight to see how much she enjoys the water. She is more animated in the water than anywhere else.


She laughs out loud and babbles up a storm. Today she said "E, I, E, I, O"! I have been working on that for weeks!


She caught on really quickly about blowing bubbles in the water. She is a natural little fish. 






She has no pain in her hips or legs in the water, though interestingly, they still seem "stuck" in the wide position even without the brace. I put her foot down on a step and she didn't seem to mind the pressure.


Even Francesca, who at first had a meltdown about dipping a toe in the water, has begun to enjoy herself.


Plus, no one ever argues or gets grumpy at the pool. Sharing is caring!


Since Victoria's legs are still so wide, I had to improvise on the swimsuit. To get a swim diaper on her, I have to open up the sides and then duct tape them back together.


The swimming pool is salt water which has been really good for Francesca's toes and fingers. The little toe on the right foot is having some problems. The nail fell off, which has been pretty painful for her.




Looking good! There is still alot of swelling, but she is starting to use her hands more.


Domino's pizza delivers right to the pool! We might just move in and sleep on the lounge chairs!

13 comments:

  1. Victoria's legs might be "stuck" still because the muscles and tendons need to lengthen. PT will help with that, but she probably needs more time to heal...Talk or email with the docs.

    And the kids are beautiful. So nice to see!

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  2. Cloth Diapers are good alternative to swim diapers

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  3. Catherine, I have lots of cloth diapers with snaps and velcro in all sizes- I'm sure we can find one or two to fit her. Disposable swim diapers are expensive!! Maybe I can dig something out and drop it off to you to try out tomorrow, because we are leaving Friday for FL.

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  4. Looks like fun! Francesca's hands and feet look GREAT! My best friend from high school was born without fingers (they made her fingers from her toes) and wasn't supposed to be able to have much use, or be able to walk well.
    Instead, her handwriting was MUCH more beautiful than mine, could french braid hair better than anybody. She played the piano, drums. She not only walked but danced, was a track, softball and tennis star.

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  5. What a great day! I'd move in, too!

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  6. Love this post! It is great to see your children enjoying the water and swimming. We practically live at our pool during the summer. I had wondered how you got a swim diaper in V. You are resourceful! I think F's fingers and toes look really good. So glad to hear she is using them more too!

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  7. Francesca fingers and toes look amazing!!

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  8. If your son were in the last picture I would say put it at the top of the blog! What a great day ya'll had! Praising God that you have found a great activity for everyone!

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  9. All of your girls are growing up so quickly. I can't believe how big Victoria and Francesca have gotten recently. It sounds like a very fun day was had by all!! God Bless your family xxoo.

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  10. victoria looks so so happy!!!!! AWESOME!!!!

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  11. Francesca hands and feet look good. What a miracle to be able to fix them so she can use them. You need to write the manufacturer of duct tape and tell them of all the things you have used it for. Maybe they will send you some free. Using it on the casts was a great idea. If you lived close you could come and swim anytime you want. Our pool is also salt water. Like it better than the chlorene.
    Can't wait to see Victoria take off and go. The girls are all changing so much. Love reading about them.

    Dottie

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  12. Where did you get Victoria's "outer" swim suit? It's so cute and modest! I salt water pool?? that is so cool but I have never heard of that before (we live in MD and in the stix :D ) The kiddos look great, I pray you got some rest somewhere :)

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