Where do I begin? This story is WAY too big for this blog, but I am going to do my best to do it justice. I wish I could rely this story to each of you personally b/c it is such a joy to tell it.
Sophie Kate and I went in to outpatient PT (physical therapy) at Children's South on Monday to have SK fitted for ankle/foot orthotics (AFO's) in order to help her stand properly when she is putting weight on her feet. It just keeps everything in proper alignment when she is standing. Anyway molds have to be made of her feet and legs and then they will make the orthotics from that, so in the course of having the molds made we were just talking about the things SK can do and what kind of equipment we have at home for her.
I was lamenting our "getting a stander for SK" issues and also telling her how much she hated the old stander we had for her and how we had returned it to the people who had loaned it to us. SK needs a different type of stander and of course the one she needs is much harder to come by so this new PT asks me, "Has Sophie ever been in a gait trainer before?" I am going to stop here for a second b/c I know some of you don't know what all this is, so I am going to clarify.
This is a stander and is used for children to stand in so they can weight bear...
This is the type of stander that SK needed b/c it has a higher back and can support her head, it is called a supine stander...
Alright back to the story...so after telling the PT all she wanted to know about Sophie Kate, she suggested we try SK in a gait trainer...
As you can see, it's kinda like a little walker with 4 swivel wheels and lots of support on the inside for the child. When Sophie Kate got strapped in to that thing she started walking, really walking, putting one foot in front of the other, it was amazing. She needed a little bit of help, b/c she was trying to roll it over carpet and didn't quite have the strength, but she didn't need any help with her feet. The therapist we were with asked me if she had ever walked before. My answer of course was "No." She couldn't believe that she was doing all of that having never worked on it before. She was very impressed with our little girl. In fact she said that Sophie Kate was a lot smarter that we were giving her credit for. She wants to be up and she wants to be moving and that she was able to do those kinds of motions and movements having never been shown them before was remarkable. Yes, I would say remarkable indeed but not b/c SK is remarkable but b/c her Creator is!!
I don't have any pictures or video from that day to share with y'all and I have to say that if I had been "busy" taking pictures or videoing I would have completely missed the experience and I didn't want to miss a thing. Our therapists are now working on getting us a gait trainer of our own, so once we get that all our girl will need is wide open spaces.
Now that I have given y'all all the technical stuff (I guess it's the nurse in me) let me give you the mama stuff...My eyes welled up with huge tears that spilled over more than once. SK walked all the way down their hallway and common area. I don't know how long it was but she did it for a while that I do know and did it with a huge smile. She was sooo proud of herself and so happy, you could just see it all over her face. I wish you all could have seen her.
I watched my baby girl taking steps, no not on her own I know that I am still in touch with reality, but I watched her work and think and concentrate and then put one foot in front of the other, she did it, she can do it!! After being told that she should not have survived, after being told for the first 4 days of her life everyday that she could still live or die, after being sent home from the NICU on hospice not knowing which direction she might go in...I almost physically cannot stand once again not in the utter sadness and brokenness of heart, but from a grateful heart and the unworthiness of my person that I should be given such favor, grace and mercy from a Holy God.
Only God could take the circumstances and situation we are in and actually make good come from it, only He can. He is the source of our hope. I am not talking about the hope that SK may walk on her own one day, although I long for that so deeply, it's the assurance we have in Him that if she doesn't we will be able to survive it and endure. Thank you Father for the renewed hope and strength You place in us everyday, may we never forget that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" James 1:17
No comments:
Post a Comment