Madi Moves

Madi was up early, along with everyone else to head to the hospital for her last Physio session in St Louis. She did some video tape work to show her walking, worked on the treadmill and did great work in her canes. Madison loved all her sessions at therapy and will miss it. 

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After Physio Madison stopped by the gift shop to pick up some souvenirs for back home, took her picture in front of the hospital sign and went by The Ronald McDonald House. The family had lots of things left over from the trip so Madi made a donation to help other families using the house just like she did. 

Later in the day Madi checked out the outlets for some shopping and big sales! She picked out lots of clothes for kindergarten in the fall! She did lots of great walking in her walker!

Madi had a Physio session bright and early this morning. The first part of the session was allocated to discuss the home program Madison will be doing for the next 6 months. She also got her different ranges measured to share with her therapists at home. The second part of the session was spent walking. Madison walked for almost 13 minutes straight on the treadmill with no breaks!

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Madi then went back to the hotel for some breakfast and some OT activities and then a dance party with Suzanne!

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After some free time back at the hotel, Madi met up with her friend Liv for some ice cream! Both girls have been working so hard these last few weeks so it was nice to go out and celebrate all their hard work together. 

Madi has absolutely LOVED working with her two therapists in St Louis. They have made her sessions fun and focused. Today was her last session with one of them and it was hard to say goodbye as she helped Madi come so far in such a short amount of time. Today they did more sitting to stand, side stepping, strengthening exercises and walking in her walker. 

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​​Madi and Jack then spent the afternoon doing different activities around the hotel and welcomed Nana back!

Nate & Jack had a boys morning with Aunt Nadia while Madi headed to Physio…trains, cars & trucks!!!

Madi had a great morning at Physio and showed off her skills to Suzanne who is now visiting with us. The most impressive moment of the session was Madi walking backwards for the first time on the treadmill! She also did double leg and single leg squats on the total gym. 

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After Physio Madison showed Suzanne around the hospital and showed her the rooftop garden.

After some lunch and quiet time the kids headed for dinner and shoe shopping. Madi was on the hunt for another pair of shoes that would fit her new braces. 

Madi and Mommy were up bright and early to see Dr Park for his first appointment of the day. This was Madi’s last visit with him until May 2018. Overall he was very happy to see Madison and how she has been progressing. Some highlights from the meeting were:

• He can now identify and confirm her left leg is more impacted than her right.
• Her right leg is almost at full range and was able to heel strike when walking today for him in her walker. He has no concerns about her right leg
• He advised us to do lots of hamstring and heel cord stretching of her left leg and to try our best with the night knee emobilizers and braces
• She is to wear her tall braces for 6 months and then after submitting videos and reports will move to the shorter braces
• When we see him at our one year post op he will evaluate the left hamstring for possible muscle lengthening surgery (20% chance)
• He also confirmed that we are to do another week of casting this summer in Toronto 

He still stands by all his predictions and said she will be taking steps in the next year. After his evaluation Madison gave him her photo frame gift and had him sign her Dr Park story book. She did a great job showing him her walking and it was so nice to be able to thank him again in person for the gift he has given Madison.
When she got back to the hotel it was movie time in bed with her brother and cousin. They have been so great together this trip

After a short visit back at the hotel, Madison headed back to the hospital for physio. She did lots of walking in her walker today and practiced pulling to stand in her canes. 

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After Physio Madi and Nate went to the hospital next door to visit Nana who unfortunately has been sick in hospital since Saturday. The kids loved seeing her and she looked so much better and is feeling much better too. 

When everyone returned to the hotel it was time for Auntie Em to leave. Madi was sad, but loved spending the last three weeks with her so we are so thankful for her time. 

Before dinner the three amigos headed to Target to pick up a few things and then it was off to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory!!

Day 19 post op:

Madi, Jack & Nate spent their day at the ball game! They had lots of fun walking around ballpark village and seeing the game. 

After the game everyone decided to walk back to the hotel. As a break on the way everyone stopped at Union Station for a drink and to see the light show!

Once back at the hotel the kiddos went for a swim before dinner arrived. Today was Madison’s first swim since her surgery. She was a little more tentative than usual in the water but that only lasted a few minutes and then she wanted to splash and kick and swim. Mommy was truly in awe of how much smoother Madi’s legs moved in the water and how much more range she had with her kicking. It was a special moment that made Mommy’s heart happy. 

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After swimming it was bath time and then PJ’s & pizza party!

Day 18 post op:

Madi, Jack & Nate spent their Saturday exploring The City Museum, an aquarium and The Arch. It was a super busy day which meant LOTS of hidden PT for Madi!!

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Day 17 post op:

Madi & Jack were super pumped this morning knowing that Nate was on a plane on his way to St Louis.

Madison first had to work hard in her Physio session before she could see her cousin. She did lots of stretching, walking on the treadmill, walking with canes and in her walker. She is figuring out her large shoes and trying not to trip over them. 

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As soon as Madi got back to the hotel, Nate was just arriving from the airport. They didn’t waste anytime- ate some breakfast and started playing right away. Everyone then went to the Magic House for some exploring, fun & hidden PT. Too many pics to post them all so check out Madi Moves on Facebook to see all the pics from the day!

Everyone then went back to the hotel for some much needed quiet time. Before the end of a great first day the kiddos went to Forest Park to The BoatHouse for dinner and to feed the ducks!

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Madi had another early morning at Physio. She was in and out by 9am, but made every minute count. She tried using tri canes today for the first time!

After Physio Madi was able to go to the St Louis Zoo for a special visit. Aunt Emily’s friend arranged for a behind the scenes tour where Madison and Jack got a 1:1 meet and greet with Rosie the sea lion!

After a visit around the zoo Madi picked up her new night time braces for stretching while sleeping and then headed downtown for dinner at a cool burger and shake restaurant.

Day 15 post op:

Madi was up bright and early to have breakfast and then get her casts off. They try and not use the cast saw with their patients at the therapy clinic so they gave instructions on how to remove the casts at the hotel in the bath tub. Madi was thrilled to get them off after the process, but during was not a happy camper. A big thank you to Aunt Emily for working so hard to cut and pull them off. She has war wounds on her hands that show how tough it was. Madi was measured and there is a 10 degree difference now in her range from the casts which is great. She will do casting again in the summer in Toronto to try and get a few degrees more. Madison also got to have her first full bath!

After her casts were removed she headed to the bracing clinic to pic up her new DAFO’s. She received two. A pair that she will wear for the next 4-6 months for support and then a shorter SMO pair for when she needs less support. Madi chose pink/purple camo print – to reflect her true warrior spirit. 

After picking up her new braces she headed to Physio. 10 minutes on the treadmill! Thank you Peppa Pig!

Madi’s new braces are much wider then her old ones so once Physio was finished she headed to the mall for new shoes. She chose pink and Jack got some new running shoes too!

After a long day out and about, Madison was super excited to go back to the hotel to celebrate Nana’s birthday!