Physical therapy update

   Elijah has been seeing a new physical therapist for a few weeks and things have been going great!  The therapist has 25+ years experience and she worked for united cerebral palsy for 10 so she is really knowledgeable.  She really knows how to get Elijah moving and he responds really well to her!
   Last week she showed me a really cool way to get him to practice his standing and do good weight bearing.  She had him stand in a corner and she sat cris cross apple sauce style right in front of him so they were face to face.  That way he couldn't escape.  She let him stand in the corner while she played patty cake games with him with songs.  He loved it!  It got him using his hands and arms too!  She also worked on trying to get him to crawl one leg at a time instead of doing the bunny hop that he has been doing.  So she would follow behind him and hold one foot down at a time and keep switching off that way he would really do the motions of one leg at a time.  He did really well.
  Today she took him into the big gym!  He worked on crawling up steps and backing down them properly instead of trying to leap head first to get down.  He did a lot of cruising between furnitures and walking with assistance.  He actually got to walk on the treadmill for the very first time today!  It took him a minute to figure it out but after he did he did a really good job!  She told us that he should walk one day!  (best news!)  That based on what she has seen there is no reason why he wouldn't!  It was a really good day!

They Will Skate Again 5/5/2012 Irving, TX

On Saturday the fifth we took Elijah to an event called They Will Skate Again.  It is hosted by Life Rolls On and was organized and presented in part by Rise Adventures. The event happened at the skate park at Lively Pointe Youth Center.

Here is the bear being fitted with helmet and pads to prepare for a fun day! Today's event centers entirely around skating. LRO also holds watersports events that feature water skiing, kayaking and many other activities!

An amazing group of volunteers included local teens, corporate volunteers, and local skaters. They guided participants up and down ramps, and those more independently mobile got chances to handle the park on their own!

                                                                                                                               

Elijah got to meet Aaron Fotheringham, Pro wheelchair skater!

Bear had the best time! We'll definitely catch this next time!

Special needs poem inspired by our bear

You say I'm outside of the picture frame and you are all in

You say that I am different but you don't know the person within

People look at me and may think I am broken

I can't walk, cannot hear, no words have I spoken

You point and you whisper, you laugh and you stare

Sometimes you pretend that I'm not even there

But what you do not understand

Is I am perfect just as God planned

My smile is the sun on a cloudy day

I'm stronger than you think in every way

I try to speak no one understands

I make loud noises and shake my hands

Some people get scared and others turn to see

But that's how I talk that is just me

I may act different than the average bear

But I'm in the picture frame I'm definitely there

I work hard every day to complete just one task

Even if I need help I cannot ask

Sometimes it’s a struggle its hard and unfair

Don't say I'm not in the picture frame that I'm not there

I may not be the same as you

And do all the things that you can do

I have a purpose much bigger than being inside the picture frame

I am the wood, I am the grain

I give the world something not many people give

I give hope and courage in the way that I live

I hold it together, I'm beautiful and strong

I'm the frame not just the picture, I definitely belong

Written by:  Karen Grinstead and Julie Cantu