I haven't been very good about updating on Hunter's progress, mainly because there was a good 5 weeks there where we weren't doing anything! It has been a long, difficult, and frustrating time for both Hunter and I, and I just didn't want to write about it. However, today I am writing with a renewed sense of joy, hope, and most of all, gratitude.
This has been a very, very big week for Hunter! We saw the surgeon again on Monday, and she was very pleased with Hunter's progress. Hunter was given a leg immobilizer, which we were able to start using at therapy this week, and he will start wearing it at home starting next week!
Big event #1 came on Tuesday at therapy: Hunter has already been doing a great job straightening his leg (he is 5 degrees short of full extension!). On Tuesday, Katheryn (our PT - I'll use her name from now on instead of 'the therapist'!) asked Hunter to bend his leg as much as he could. So Hunter started with his leg in almost full extension, and with no help, bent it to 91 DEGREES! If you recall, the surgeon had his knee bent to 90, so the fact that Hunter can now achieve even more flexion is absolutely huge, and a wonderful indication that the surgery was indeed a success. After that, Kathryn put him in the immobilizer brace, and tried to get Hunter to step down on his left foot. Hunter was pretty freaked out by this, and would only touch his toes on the floor very gently.
Big event #2 came today!: Today, Hunter went to therapy a little more prepared for the leg brace, and he was tremendously successful! After a few stretching exercises, Kathryn put Hunter's brace on and had him step on the floor. He was still resisting putting any weight on the left foot, so Kathryn let him play with the foot controls for the bed they have in the therapy room. An electronic gadget was just the right motivation! Hunter started pushing down on that foot with no trouble at all and even said "hey, this isn't so bad!". Since he did so well with that, Kathryn decided to have him try walking with a walker.
After the first two steps, Hunter tried racing down the hallway hopping with only the right leg, and we realized the walker provided wheels and a little too much support! After that we had to bargain with Hunter - five hops, then 10 real steps, five hops, etc. Just when I thought this was all so amazing, Hunter decided he wanted to try standing without holding on to anything -
Seeing the progress this week has been like seeing a light at the end of a long, frustrating, exhausting, and very challenging tunnel. It was a reminder to both Hunter and I that this is only temporary, and that the best is yet to come!
On our drive home, we stopped for a milkshake as a reward for all of Hunter's hard work. During the drive I had the song "Tunnel" by Third Day stuck in my head:
I won't pretend to know what you're thinking
I can't begin to know what you're going through
I won't deny the pain that you're feeling
But I'm gonna try and give a little hope to you
Just remember what I've told you
There's so much you're living for
There's a light at the end of this tunnel,
There's a light at the end of this tunnel For you, for you
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
Shinin' bright at the end of this tunnel For you, for you
So keep holdin' on
You've got your disappointments and sorrows
You ought to share the weight of that load with me
Then you will find that the light of tomorrow
It brings a new life for your eyes to see
What a day :o)
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