Month: April 2016

Day 416: Hands off!

Madison had a great morning at Nana and Papa’s. She baked cookies with Nana, went for a walk outside with Papa and practiced standing and reaching for toys with no hands! We are being encouraged to assist Madison with her walking and standing with our hands off by exposing her to different methods of trying to walk to mix things up, keep her motivated and to develop problem solving skills. Her growing awareness of what challenges her has brought some nervousness about trying things by herself. The more she gets use to not feeling a helping hand when moving, the more confident she’ll become in trying to stand and walk by herself. We have been trying this by using a pole, holding her shirt or pants, using a harness or getting Madison to walk holding a toy and then holding the same toy to help support her. We have been focusing on these strategies a lot for the last couple of days and already see a big improvement with her confidence and risk taking. 

   
    
    
 
 

  
 
 
 

Day 415: Down time

Madison’s schedule was cleared today to have some down time to rest from her busy week. After sleeping in, she spent the morning having tea time with Pam and Medford and playing with the balls and having a snack. She helped Mommy and Daddy shop at Costco in the afternoon and then had a good straight legged stretch while sitting playing with her iPad. After a hot bath, Madison and Mommy did some more stretching before getting into her matching pj’s with Jack. It was a great day to recharge.

   
    
    
    

  

  

  

  

  

 

Madison picked out some beautiful flowers to give Pam for all her help today – thanks Pam!!

    
 

Day 414: Resilience

” Resilience is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes”

Many people have described Madison as a resilient little girl. Although she has many challenges she faces each and every day, she finds a way to keep going and then is able to experience special moments and successes. Mommy and Daddy feel that Madison is learning and living through such important life lessons at such a young age that will make her an extroadanary person as she grows, and they are grateful for that. 

Madison had a very long week of not feeling well, but other then swimming – she made it through all her therapies with success. After lunch and a nap with Nana, she spent some time with Stephanie at Variety Village. She had some “moments” that any typical two year old would have on a Friday  afternoon, but her hard work and determination outweighed those. Mommy and Stephanie were very proud of her. They worked today on all different kinds of walking. She walked in and out of her session with her walker, they walked with a harness, walked with bands around her hips, and walked with some help from Stephanie and her scooter. It was a great way to end the week!

     

   
 

 
Madison loved singing the National Anthem and “ok Blue Jays” as she cheered on her favourite team in their home opener. 

 

 
   
 

Day 413: Pushing Through

Madison is on day 4 of her cold, but continues to push through to do her weekly therapies. Before heading to March of Dimes with Monika, she had a great afternoon with Suzanne – she even ate all her veggies!

  
 With Monika she worked on lots of walking, squating and stretching and walking down stairs. She is continuing to learn how to use the canes and stand independently with little to no support. Everyone was so proud of how hard she worked today even though she is still not feeling 100%.

   
    
    
    
 

Day 412: Joe!

After a great morning at school, Madison headed north to have a visit with her horse Joe. She was still feeling under the weather so she only lasted about 20 minutes before it was time to get off Joe and head to his stables to give him an apple. Her therapist and volunteers have been teaching Madison about Joe. What he likes to eat, how he moves and the different parts of him like his tail and mane to help her build a relationship with him. They also have been using mirrors so Madison can see how she sits on him and the posture she is to have to help build her core strength. Madison was happy to have Pam and Medford meet Joe and watch her ride. Thanks Pam and Medford, Madison loved having you watch! It was a cold session with Joe today so hopefully this will be the last of the snow and they can have more rides outdoors together in the sun. 

   
    
   

Day 411: Goals

Madison has been under the weather, but gave it her best go at Grandview today to help set new goals. With a new block started for the next 8-10 weeks Madison will be focused on the following with Kate: to assist with independence in potty training they will work on moving from a crawling position to squating to standing next to the potty followed by turning while standing and then squaring to sit down on the potty. They will also work on lifting high knees to climb and pull up to help her better get into her own bed herself. An ongoing goal will be independent standing as well as walking. It was also decided that she will be receiving her second round of Botox in a few weeks – her first round that happened in December has now worn off and she is in need of a new set of injections that will be in the same muscle groups as before – her hamstrings and calf muscles. 

   
   

Day 410: Guest Blog by Grandma Ambos

“Madison had a great day. She taught Stanley his numbers, she sat by the wood fireplace, read books and then she went outside to play on the snow. She went for a sled ride and then made a snowman! Yes in April!! For lunch she had chicken pie, Cucumber and peppers and then ice cream. Madison had a long nap and Woke up happy and played the piano. It was a wonderful day together.”

   
    
   

Day 409: Different ways of Moving

  Madison had a great morning with Nana & Papa! She practiced using her walker around their house while she helped Nana with her medication, baked cookies and played with all their toys. 

 

 
   
    
    
 

In the afternoon she tried out her new ‘Kid About’

 

 
   
 She also practiced with her new canes that were generously donated from Corinna and Cam – thank you!

   

 

Madison LOVED watching her Blue Jays!

  

Day 407: Standing Star!

After a few weeks break, Madison was back at the Village today working hard with Stephanie. They did lots of practice walking and used the treadmill. Stephanie stretched with Madison and assessed her flexibility, muscle range and catchment. She is in agreement with Kate at Grandview that it is approaching the time for Madison to receive Botox again. When Madison received Botox at the beginning of December it was estimated that it would last for about 4 months. Now – 4 months later we have seen the change and agree that it’s time to try it again. A super exciting moment in Madison’s session today was when she stood independently for 22 seconds! What was most exciting was that it was attempted at the end of her time with Stephanie. She was tired and was able to still do a super job!

   
    
   
After her session with Stephanie she headed to Great Grandmas apartment to help Nana pack up a few items. Madison’s Great Grandma is now living in a smaller apartment and the family is helping her downsize and keep various items important to her Great Grandma and the family. Mommy and Madi were happy to receive a silver tea and coffee set that was Madi’s Great Great Grandmothers. It is very special to have and she was happy to serve herself tea and play while everyone packed some things up and got organized. When it was almost time to go – Mommy, Nana, Uncle Mark, Aunt Nadia and Jack all admired the view from the belcony looking at the skyline and the CN Tower that was lit up green for organ donation awareness!