We FINALLY received the guide bar for Ryder's walker and it makes the world of a difference! No more running around hunched over trying to steer him in the right direction. My back is very happy. We have also ditched the seat and Ryder is now walking instead of gliding around on his toes. He almost wore a hole right through one of his shoes before we took that darn seat off!!! He is doing SO amazing! He still toe walks but his therapists feel that after he gets his castings done and his braces are made he'll be more likely to be able to get those feet flat on the ground. We have taken Ryder to the park EVERY day for the past week. He LOVES it and I love how excited he get as soon as we get there!
Here he is walking with no seat :)
The park we have been going to is awesome for Ryder. Not only is the playground accessible for special needs kids it also has horses!! Ryder loves saying "hi and watching the horses :) The other night he was actually "Neighing" in his sleep! Silly guy...
Here he is walking up the playground, we did this about twenty times!! lol NO JOKE! I am sure we'll find ourselves back there again tomorrow :)
We are now at $4040!!! Thank you to EVERYONE that has helped out! Caiti keeps coming to my mom with more and more money from the donation jars. Ugh she is just so amazing! My cousins back home have also planned a poker night to help raise money. Again I am just SO blown away! Love all you guys so much!!
Today was such a great day! I took Ryder out in public in his walker for the first time. I was a bit nervous at first, as before now to everyone else in the world Ryder looked like an ordinary kid, just being lugged around by his mommy. In his walker it is so obvious that it's not the case. I was curious how other kids would react or if people would stare or point and talk... I know it seems silly but the thoughts were still there in my mind. We went to the park with one of my best friends and her daughter Hannah (Ryder's little girlfriend). As soon as we got on the path I put Ryder in his walker. Hannah immediately grabbed hold and they both started walking up the path together. My heart melted and I seriously almost started crying. Once we got to the top where Ryder could see the playground he started squealing with excitement. He had so much fun and got quite the workout too! I wish i had of brought my camera but I knew I would have my hands full. Next time for sure! Of course he drew some attention but it didn't really bug me like I thought it would. I had one little girl ask me what I was doing and why Ryder needed that "thing". I also over heard some kids asking their moms what that "thing" was. Of course kids will have questions... All in all it was just such a good experience for him, it made his walker fun again! And how neat it must have been for him to be at the same level of his little friend :) Cant wait until the guide bar finally comes in and we can take him on more adventures!!!
Just wanted to do a quick post with some videos mainly for my family back home that doesn't get to see his progress first hand.
Just the other week I started working with Ryder trying to get him to crawl on all fours. At first I would work his feet while he moved his arms. He would only take a few strides then fall to the ground. We have been working on it everyday and now I think he actually prefers to be up on all fours! It seems everyday he goes a little further. He has even started to push all the way up into the crawling stance from laying flat on the floor! SO PROUD!! I took this video right before bed tonight, he was super sleepy after a long day and still managed to "wow" me :)
I also wanted to show a small clip of him sitting unsupported. He can only do this if he is concentrated on something and his legs are crossed but he still manages to stay upright for a LONG time (basically till he's bored and wants to move on). Sitting is a huge milestone for any child but in the CP world sitting is a HUGE deal! It is said that kids who have Cerebral Palsy and sit by the age of two are far more likely to walk than those who don't. I feel in my heart this kid WILL walk someday!!
We have now raised $3460! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated! Some donation jars have been placed back home in Gibsons and I am overwhelmed with how generous people have been. Thank you so much Mom for making them, running around collecting donations and really making it all possible. I am also in awe and so thankful to a little girl I use to babysit, who I guess is not so little anymore!! Probably the last time I saw Caitlin she was maybe 6 years old! Now she has graduated from high school and is all grown up! Wow really makes me feel old!! She has been amazing with requesting donation jars, collecting donations and even convincing co workers to pitch in. Thank you Caiti your amazing! Jars have been placed at the Seasond Kitchen, Fainting Couch Spa and Weatberries bakery. Thanks so much Karla, Kim and Caiti you girls are awesome!!
Ryder FINALLY received his walker that we have been waiting for months to get. Unfortunately some of the parts were missing (including the guide bar) so we haven't been able to take him out in it much. We also need some help with the adjustments to try and get him walking rather than gliding across the floor on his toes. The Physio therapist in Fredericton has agreed to fit us in and see what she can do to help. He seemed to walk so much better in a different brand that he tried out while we were there. We are going to try that one again and decide which one is right for Ryder. Tyler and I are starting to think he may just be getting lazy!! Why walk when you can glide and roll right?? Ugh!!!!
Ryder has also been working really hard on "proper" crawling. He's been able to do the army crawl for sometime now but to actually be up on all fours and be weight baring on his arms is a BIG deal for the little guy!! It started with us just putting him on his knees then getting him to put his hands down and hold for a couple seconds. He thinks it's a game and loves it when we say "hands down". Next I had him move his arms while I moved his legs crawling towards a toy. Then last week he started making strides all on his own! He can only do about four or five motions before putting his belly to the ground but he has come SO far! Even brought tears to his P/T eyes when he showed off his new skills.
This was the best I could get tonight as we have a very over tired little boy on our hands! I'll try to get a better one tomorrow to replace this one :)
