One Day at a time: May 2013

Were back!! Talk about a long two weeks away from home!! It was a productive two weeks too.

We flew in on Saturday and were able to get settled in a little bit before the excitement started on Monday. Westin did really well on the airplane. I was so nervous about this, but with the right toys, we were able to keep him calm the whole time. He even took a little snooze, Yay! Also.. when renting a car, never choose the economy size when traveling with 3 large suitcases, a stroller, and a baby! As soon as we go to the car rental place I saw this tiny little car and started laughing and told Travis wouldn't that be so funny if that was our car.... and the guy goes.. "it is"! hahaha I thought I was going to die laughing. Google Chevy Spark.. and you will see that little beauty. Good thing the guy decided to upgrade us to the next size for free!

We were so glad we decided to get a rental car.... I think we would have go stir crazy without it. Plus we were able to get in a bunch of sight seeing, which was a major bonus!

The first Monday started out with a bang. we learned quick that a 2 mile drive in Baltimore isn't the same a 2 mile drive in Wahpeton. One takes 20 minutes the other takes 1 minute! The first day started out by going over all of Westins medical history. Good thing I was prepared because there is A LOT! After that we were on to our first day of Physical Therapy. The first day was pretty much just watching him to see what he can and cant do. They also learned very quickly that what Westin wants Westin gets. We started in a huge room with people of all ages getting treated for anything and everything. We knew that this type of environment wouldn't work well for Westin. To many things to distract him. So we went down to the Peds floor which was much better. Not sure why we didn't start there in the first place. There were LOTs of toys and they also had smaller rooms which we ended up using a lot.

The next few days were spent using Estim, which we also now use at home. Westins muscles respond well to this type of PT. It help keep the muscles strong that he isn't voluntarily using. By the middle of the first week we were able to get Westin in the pool. Talk about a awesome pool. The entire floor moves up and down as one so they can adjust it to whatever level that they want to work with him at. At home he really enjoys the pool so we were excited to try it here. The first 10 min went great and then they brought out this floating walker type thing. BIG MISTAKE.. once he saw that, he freaked out and that was the end of pool PT. We tried two other times while there.. and no such luck, just the sight of the pool made him upset.

They had some other cool equipment out here that we don't have at home, like a small treadmill, and some gait trainers. The treadmill was really cool. They would harness him in and it would take three people working with him. One would hold his hips, and one person working with each leg to make sure the placement was just right. By the end of the two weeks, Westin was doing about 25 min each day.... Of course we had Bob the Builder on the dvd player, he also had to walk holding his lovey "aka Blanket" and his little white puppy. While being bribed with mini M&M's but, Hey! whatever works!

We also were able to try out a Riffton Mini Pacer Gate Trainer. Its the upgraded version of his current walker. These gate trainers offer pretty much even option you can think of. It was nice because he was able to explore on his own without us having to keep an eye on him every second. We are in the process of getting one ordered, so hopefully within a few weeks we will have it!

While out there we also wanted to see another orthopedic Dr. to get a second opinion on Westins feet. Im glad we did this because we got a recommendation for a new type of leg brace. Its made from the same material as his current ones, but its like two braces in one. Its from Sure Step, its the Indy2. He also suggested that at night Westin sleep with the Ponseti Brace. We are NOT excited about this at all. This has been mentioned in the past and then at the last minute his current Orthopedic Dr changed his mind. This is pair of sandals that has a bar between the legs. They like this type of brace to be wore every night until the age of 5!!!! This is to help with the position of his feet, and also to assure they don't become clubbed again.

Of course we also had to have some fun and go sight seeing. While there we went to 2 baseball games, ran a 5k for the Ronald McDonald house, went to the National Aquarium, the Maryland Zoo, we also walked around the inner harbor where there were some fun stores, and restaurants. We also drove to Washington D.C. Neither of us had ever been there so it was really fun. We walked around the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, we saw the White House, The Capitol Building, WWII Memorial. We also drove past the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. We sure had a lot of fun!

The first question everyone asks is if we are glad we went and if we thought it was worth the trip. The answer is yes, while it was a LONG two weeks away from home. We learned a lot, we saw a lot and we can see am improvement in Westin and his leg strength. So we are happy we went and plan to go back with in the year.

Here are some pictures of our trip!