Nolen's Physical Therapy Eval

I had an obscene amount of anxiety regarding this appointment. The kind of anxiety where you can feel your heart beat faster and your chest tighten...the kind that you are sure would be bad for you if you felt it all the time. I couldn't and still can't pinpoint why I was so anxious. Maybe it was leftover worry from a very disappointing GI appointment, but whatever it was it wasn't fun.

The Physical Therapist, named Adrienne which only keeps with our running TV/Movie themed names/jokes  (remember Al who we already see once a week) and had me remembering a friend from an old base while also reciting a thousand and one Yo Adrienne jokes in my head, agrees that we definitely need more therapy for the little guy. I don't know why, but my heart deflated just a little bit when I was told this. I KNEW in my head that this was what I was going to hear, but I hoped with my heart that I was just too close to Nolen to see the progress that he has made. My heart was wrong, my head was right...he isn't progressing like "they" (and I) think he should. Right now he has a giant piece of tape on his back testing for allergies. If he isn't allergic, next week we will start taping his torso so that his muscles will "remember" how to function and grow stronger. In addition to having his torso taped, his hands will be taped open. Sounds Cruel? Barbaric? Mideval? Yea, I'm right there with you. But at this point...it's tape or end up in braces that aren't nearly as flexible. Hopfully, we can avoid the braces (because if the tape doesn't make a difference, then we are goign to be adding Occupational Therapy and braces to our litany of things to do).

Things they mentioned to me:

~Nolen is still weak on the left side (his head tilts that way, as though he has torticallis (a tight muscle that      impairs rotation of the neck) but his is related to muscle weakness.
~His hands are too tightly closed
~His torso is weak
~His tone is still very poor

Things that we are doing:

~Adding more exercises (yes, more!!)
~Continuing therapy with them and with Early Intervention
~Taping