CIMT - Day 21

DONE!

Mr. Blue came off today!

Mighty Man is so brave.  He wanted me next to him, but he didn't show any fear of the noisy saw.

He stretched that arm and wiggled those fingers!  Freedom!

It was interesting to observe his use of Lefty the rest of the day today.

I sat his snack of crackers on his right side, thinking he'd automatically go back to using his right hand, now that it was available.  He reached over his body with his LEFT HAND and picked up a cracker and lifted it to his mouth!  I couldn't believe what I was seeing!  I don't think he realized what he was doing either...until he used his right hand to push his left hand into the right position to get the cracker in his mouth.  Then I heard him whisper in realization that he had Righty available now, "Oh yeah." with a  and reach for the next one with Righty.

Score 1 for 21 days of repetition at meal time!

Then, at dinner, Dad loaded the fork with a bite and placed it on the left side of Mighty Man's plate...and sure enough, he reached for it with Lefty.

Score 2!

He wanted to wear his sunglasses outside this evening, so Dad handed them to him to put on himself.  He used both hands together so beautifully, that an objective observer wouldn't even have noticed anything atypical.

Wahoo!  This sort of Bi-Manual activity is the goal!

I'm trying to think of things to do better or differently next time.

Before that time comes, I'll be gathering more information about the best timeframe for CIMT.

Since I had psyched myself up for just 14 days, and then decided at the last moment to shoot for 21 days, I think it deflated my sails a little.

I'll also plan new activities for each day instead of winging it.  We didn't prepare a long time in advance for this. (I've been avoiding it.) I finally decided we needed to do it, and our calendar was fairly open for the necessary time, so we did it.

I'm going to find a way to get a CIMT Day Camp near me!

Thanks for reading along.  I'll keep posting...just maybe not every day!

CIMT - Day 20

Day 20.

Twenty.

We are almost done with this round of CIMT.

I'm so pleased with Mighty Man's progress and improvement.

And I'm so ready for him to have is right hand back!

Today he was using his cast and right thumb to help Lefty put trucks on the truck trailer.  I'm hoping that the last 20 days have improved his desire to use both hands together, and that we'll see more independent bi-manual use in the future.

We worked on putting blocks away again today.  Back on Day 4 I said it was a challenge.  It was still a challenge, but done with less frustration!

I love his surprised exclamation, "I did it!"

We also did some triceps extension exercises again, but with more blocks in the bag.

I think his strength and precision has improved a little bit, but the awareness of his Left arm has definitely improved greatly.

I also have noticed improvement when helping him climb the stairs.  The handrail is on the right side, so we've been holding his left hand to help him climb the stairs.  His balance, grasp, and strength through Lefty is much better than 20 days ago!

Mr. Blue comes off tomorrow!

CIMT - Day 19

We had a super fun day today!  I mentioned yesterday that I've been uninspired to find new activities to try...so it worked out perfectly that we were invited to meet up with a group at the Tulsa Children's Museum today.

These kiddos are the inspiration for our group meeting.

  Isn't it funny how life brings people together?  These sweeties have similar abilities as Mighty Man.  Some have stronger Leftys, and some have stronger Rightys...but they and their families speak the same lingo as we do.  We found these friends found through CHASA's Facebook community for Oklahomans.

Thanks Facebook!

There were so many things for Mighty Man to do with Lefty!  It was fun to see him warm up to the place.  He was a little hesitant at first, but after the first couple of things we looked at, he was ready to check it all out!

He still needed help with some things, but it was super fun to see all the things he could do on his own with Lefty!

While there, I talked with another mom about CIMT. Her daughter sees a PT in the same office as ours.  We talked about how great it would be to have a CIMT Day Camp available somewhere near us.  The closest one is 6 hours away.  CIMT Day Camps usually have therapy professionals, or therapy students, work with kids every day for 3 weeks, while the stronger arm is constrained, in a fun Day Camp environment.  Obviously, that would require some major expense to stay away from home for 3 weeks.  Plus the cost for the program, unless we were lucky enough to get into one of the grant funded ones.  I'm not sure how to get something started in Oklahoma, but my wheels are turning.  If you have any ideas, let me know!

CIMT - Day 18

We planted our first ever garden back in May.  Then it snowed.

But, we have produce!

Mighty Man has been watching things grow, but the squash and zucchini is in the back and hidden from easy view, so we didn't realize it was ready to harvest!  We got a big ol' zucchini. Mighty Man wanted to hold it...and the "Gourds." Aka, Jimmy & Jerry from Veggie Tales.

Look at Lefty helping hold that 4 lb zucchini!!

We splashed in the little kiddie pool on the back porch today.  Mighty Man liked to lay on his tummy and tell me he was 'swimming'.  I realized he was actually propping himself up on his arms, bearing a little weight through Lefty!

We discovered that moving the rolling pin over Play-Doh  and pushing cookie cutters into it was a fun activity for Lefty!

I'm feeling uninspired for new things to try.  I'm glad the kiddos asked to play with the Play-Doh!

We have less than 60 hours left with Mr. Blue.  We'll make a strong finish!

CIMT - Day 17

It was an exciting day!

 (A little diversion from a regular CIMT post today, but this is what happened today!)

Dear friends helped us build a playhouse with swing an slide.

From scratch.  No kit for this one.

I even got to help.

Well, there were power tools.  I couldn't stay away.

Mighty Man did a great job staying out of the way during construction.

As soon as I told him it was finished...Move-out-the-WAY!!

"I want to go to the top."

"I want to go to the bottom."

"Sam, come see my new playhouse..Ta Da!"

Short of special ordering a custom structure, which would cost as much as a small car, we couldn't find anything that would allow independent access for Mighty Man.

We want him to be challenged to achieve new skills, but we want him to have fun too, and be able to do things without assistance.  Kids with physical challenges seem to always have an adult stuck to them like glue.  He needs to have the opportunity to do things by himself in an environment where he can be successful.

Most fabricated play set kits have ladders or rock walls to get to the upper level.  It's going to be a while before Mighty Man develops the skills needed for a ladder or a rock wall.  In the mean time, they would be frustrating and a safety concern.

Except for the swing, he can navigate this structure all by himself.  But, he can confidently sit in the half-bucket seat while swinging!

We are all so excited for this new addition!

And so thankful for friends who know how to build things.

If you need us, we'll be outside!

CIMT - Day 16

Mr. Ed helped Mighty Man string beads on yarn during his Wednesday night class at church.

I wasn't there, so I can't really add any commentary to the pictures!

I LOVE this boy.

I LOVE that my son LOVES his Wednesday night class.

I LOVE that our church shows Jesus to kids with special needs.

I LOVE that he was learning and growing in that hour and a half while we were apart.

CIMT - Day 15

We had another fun Summer day today.

We went swimming. Again.

My friend, Cat, helped him walk to the pool, and she commented that he actually grasped her hand with Lefty, rather than just a limp hand.  I have noticed this too, but was glad to have a someone else experience it as well!

Playing outside, he had a nice 2-handed grasp on the ball.  Mr. Blue was helping a lot...but using both hands is great.  Using both hands together is the end goal anyway.

He played a little PBSkids.org today.  He can move the mouse around to get it where he wants to go and click on the right things, but it takes a lot of concentration and extra time.

I'm pretty impressed that he can do even that!

6 days to go!

CIMT - Day 14

We saw our Occupational Therapist today.  She hasn't seen him since the day before we got Mr. Blue.  Like our PT, we've known her since Sis was a baby.  She has a special place in our hearts too!

She was super impressed with Mighty Man's skills.

His reaction time is much faster than it used to be.  If you placed an object in his hand, it used to take 10-15 seconds for him to actually wrap his fingers around it in a grasp.  It's much more immediate and instant now.

The tweezers and the 'bugs' were a challenging task, but he did all of the work, with just a little support from Ms. Amy.

She worked on getting him to turn his palm face up and extend his arm out to the front by handing him letters to spell words with the magnets.

He also got to hit a balloon with Mr. Blue while sitting in a position to bear weight on Lefty.  He thought it was lots of fun to get to purposefully hit something with the cast!

Ms. Amy encouraged us to keep going for another week, and Mighty Man agreed, so we will press on!

CIMT - Day 13

A few days before we started CIMT, I explained it to Mighty Man in the best way he could understand. Based on the recommendation of a medical professional we respect and trust, I had explained that we'd do this for 14 days.  The day before Mr. Blue was put on, another medical professional we respect and trust, our Occupational Therapist, suggested that we shoot for 21 days.  

So today, Mighty Man asked me what day it was for Mr. Blue.  When I replied that it was Day 13, he responded with a "Yay! Tomorrow we can get Mr. Blue off!"

Oops.

We missed making sure he was clear on the possibility of an extended timeline.

We visit the OT tomorrow, so we'll see what she thinks of his progress.  There does not seem to be a consistent approach across the board for how to administer CIMT.  Studies on the subject are fairly new so there are lots of opinions on the best practice.

He knows that Mr. Blue isn't coming off tomorrow, and I think he'll be okay with extending it one more week.  But I can't help but feel like I misled him.

I got to spend the evening way from home, so Dad seamlessly took over.  He's AMAZING, and I'm blessed that he's my partner in life's journey.

Dad & Mighty Man played a few rounds of UNO Moo! while I was gone.  A fun version of UNO that has great opportunities for fine motor skills!

Look! Pincer Grasp!!

He couldn't quite get the pieces oriented in the right direction to sit on the ledge, but he did get them on!!

Pulling the pieces out of the Barn was a good exercise too!

CIMT - Day 12

I did not take a single picture today.

We had a wonderful day as a family, and with friends at one of our most favorite places, New Life Ranch! I had too much fun playing to take pictures.

We sang songs, played fun games, swam, threw rocks in the creek with Lefty, bounced along on a ride in the Hay-bus, and will all sleep we'll tonight!

Mighty Man did A LOT of walking. I'm so proud of his ability to navigate rough terrain, and his desire to keep up with the other kids.

He amazes me!

CIMT - Day 11

I have been helping Mighty Man get food into his hand, and he's been mostly successful from there to his mouth.  He has not had a lot of success picking it up from a dish.

But, here he was today...

It ain't pretty.

BUT IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

And, even better than that:

I witnessed an AMAZINGLY PERFECT PINCER GRASP!!  And then it could not be repeated for the camera.  Oh well.  It happened.  All by himself. And I saw it.

And, at his request...

This is me, not posting it on Facebook..



10 days left!

CIMT - Day 10

We are halfway done!

And I learned today that I'm a lightweight when it comes to CIMT.

I posted a question in a Facebook Group run by CHASA (Children's Hemiplegia And Stroke Association) to see what duration of CIMT other folks have done.  Since we have conflicting professional opinions, I was curious for other experiences.

I got 6 replies, so far:

One said 14 days.

Two said 21 days.

One said 4 weeks

And, drumroll...

Two said 6 - 8 WEEKS!!

I thought they made a typo, or perhaps had done a removable constraint.  Nope.

One mom said that they started her kiddo with CIMT at 18 months old and did 6-8 weeks every 6 months until he was 5.

Wow.

We can do a measly 21 days, right?

Right.

There are a whole bunch of kids doing CIMT right now, all over the U.S.  It's nice to know we aren't alone.

On to share other activities of the day!

Mighty Man wanted to help me push the cart in the grocery store.

He was actually able to keep it moving after I got it started.

I snapped this picture right before he had a near miss with the beer display.

I decided the fuzzy picture would be better than risking another shot and a clean up on aisle 10!

He had a great session with our beloved Physical Therapist.  Thanks to Big Sis getting us accustomed to therapists and specialists first, we've known Ms. Monica for 9 years!  At the end of the hour of hard work, he climbed on her lap and snuggled up as we were talking!  So sweet.

He's holding his reward sucker in lefty, too!

In the midst of all the awesome things he did today, they figured out how to make his cape fly.

I think the Super Thomas Cape and the Super Power Arm Band are officially a success!  He actually asked for them this morning.  Score for Mom! Therapeutic aid disguised as a desirable toy.

10 days D-O-N-E.

CIMT - Day 9

I must admit, we were all kind of dragging along today.  I don't think Mighty Man is eating and drinking as much as usual because it's such an effort.  I suspect he could be a little sore too from all the new muscle use. And he's getting tired of me taking his picture.

Tomorrow we'll hit the mid point and start the downhill side of this 21 days.

Perhaps that will put wind in our sails!

We went swimming again today. The cast may be waterproof, but it takes a long time for the inside to dry out.  We drove to church with the windows rolled down to try to aid the drying. 

The kids thought the wind was awesome.

In the midst of the dragging feeling today,

we had a HUGE moment of excitement with a new thing...

look how high and straight that arm is raised!

He actually did it better, off camera, but I was pushing my luck even getting this picture.

Remember the arms-over-head pose on the FIRST DAY?  That was as much as he would stretch his arm independently.  And then, the picture of his arms stretched to his side just FOUR DAYS ago?

So incredible!

Thank you, Lord, for this encouragement today.

CIMT - Day 8

We took a little breather today.  Okay, we were flat-out lazy.

There was much cuddling and watching PBS Kids.

Mighty Man was not quite his active little self.  He's been working hard, I think he needed a break.

Of course, even on a lazy day, it is still hard work for Lefty to eat or complete other necessary life skills.  So it was not a lost day!

We played a family game of Trouble this evening.

It took a lot of strength to push the popper.

And the little pegs were impossible to pick up without knocking other pegs out of their spot.

I dug in my craft box to see if I could rig something up to make them easier to grasp.

Here's what I came up with:

Bigger pom-poms would have been better.

I wrapped the thread through the bead several times, pushed the bead into the underside of the peg and attached it, through the hole in the peg, to the pom.

It helped some, but it was still tricky to get the pegs where he wanted them to go.

I'm so proud of his hard work!  You can see his concentration and determination!