Fall Break

While it was certainly not a relaxing fall break, it was a productive one. Jake had 10 appointments this week, five of them for a one week intensive PT session. He hasn't had any PT since summer and we wanted to try and capitalize on the botox he got a few weeks ago for his foot. It's been pretty amazing progress, he is walking better than we have seen since his aneurysm burst. The botox is allowing him to get his left foot flat (instead of leaning towards the outside edge) and his physical therapist has taped his left leg to help keep it straight. He's had a tendency for his leg to bow out and she is worried he is going to start having knee pain. Whatever it is, it seems to be working and it's exciting to see such great progress. His younger cousins even commented today how nicely Jake was walking.

On Jake's own initiative, he has also been walking more at home this week without his leg brace. It's slow going, but I think being able to get his foot flat combined with the increased ankle movement he is getting is giving him the confidence to try it more. It's pretty cool to see him be able to actually lift his ankle as he takes a step, plant his heel and walk without holding onto something. It's not the "hop/walk" we are used to seeing when he had his brace off.

We did manage to fit in a few fun activities as well. Jake went to a Halloween party on Monday with boy scouts, we squeezed in a movie mid-week, went trick-or-treating, played laser tag and got together with my family today for my both my brother's birthday. Trick-or-treating was pretty incredible (Luke was a sensei and Jake was Slash from the band Guns n Roses). Last year, there was no way Jake could have walked to more than a few houses so we took him around the neighborhood in his wheelchair. Many times Todd took Jake, along with his chair, up several steps to people's houses. This year, Jake and his friend Connor walked the entire way and were out for about an hour and a half. We kept asking if he was tired or wanted his chair and he kept saying no. They went at a pretty leisurely pace and took a couple of breaks, but he just kept going. I was not only impressed with his drive and stamina, (especially after the long week he had) but also with Connor who patiently went at Jake's pace. Luke and his friend weren't quite as willing to go slower and were often a couple houses ahead. :-)

Jake said today that he isn't ready to go back to school tomorrow, and doesn't feel like he got a "break," but we're hoping all his hard work this week will help his walking continue to improve.