Fall Break and Botox

What a great week! The boys were on fall break this past week and got to spend a lot of time with their friends, grandparents and we even fit in a trip to the Denver Mint where coins are made. It was so nice to see Jake tired from having fun instead of from his normal busy schedule. We are trying to increase his stamina and endurance, so are letting him push himself a bit more.This picture was taken at a corn maze my mom took them too not too far from here. I don't know what Luke was standing on, but he's not taller than Jake, yet!

Back on the 17th, Jake got botox injections in five locations in his left arm and two in his left hamstring. I was never aware of any uses for botox other than cosmetic and was surprised to find out it's pretty commonly used for to help relax muscles. My understanding is, muscles come back at different times so some have responded quicker than others and may be overcompensating for the opposing muscle. Jake has been really tight in his hamstring which has made it hard to fully straighten his knee when he walks. On his arm, we were noticing that his arm was often flexed upward and his hand was constantly in a fist. It took a lot of effort for him to try and keep his arm down and fist open. It was also hard to pick things up with his left hand since his arm naturally wanted to rotate out so his forearm was up. His doctor targeted three main areas of the arm: finger flexors to make it easier to keep his hand open; arm extension so he could fully extend his arm down; and inward rotation so it would be easier to turn his arm over and have his palm down. (Those are all my terms, not the proper names for all this!) We've been anxious to see how the botox would help since they said we wouldn't see much for at least 3-5 days and would see the peak effects between 10-14 days.

We're now at day 10 and definitely are noticing an improvement. His leg is not nearly as tight and he's able to straighten his knee when he walks. His arm has also really relaxed. The plan is to combine the botox treatments with his therapy to really maximize the results. He is now working with two different Physical Therapists, one who has a lot of neurological background and one who specializes in the foot. Same thing for his Occupational Therapists, one is a hand specialist and one who is more general. We've also stepped up his home therapy sessions. I can't imagine how hard all these exercises are for him, but he rarely complains and just keeps plugging away.