Guess what I did?????????

You all know I have brain damage from a stroke that I had before I was born.Then I had Infantile Spasms which is a seizure disorder that can cause more damage if the seizures are not controlled. Some babies and children are lucky and treatment works on them but I was almost 3 years old when we finally got these seizures to stop so it caused more damage to my brain. So I have to work so much harder to do some of the things we take for granted that all babies/kids can do. There is a part of your brain that controls movement and another part that controls balance well those parts don't work all that great for me. That is why I cannot sit up on my own. I have worked really hard that sometimes I can sit on my own but if I lean a little too much I will just fall over. The same with getting my arms and legs to do what I want them. Sometimes I can get them to do what I want and then there are other times I wish they would stop moving but I cannot control all my movements.
I was probably 4 1/2 years old when I first stayed sitting up on my own. It was at the beach and I was sitting in the sand by the waters edge. The tide was rolling in and for some reason I was able to stay sitting up on my own. They think the position i was sitting in, the sensory input I was getting from the sand and the water made some triggers for me to stay sitting. Hey what ever did it I sat up on my own. Most babies have sitting mastered by 6-7 months it only took me 4 1/2 years to do it.
Standing has been hard because for the longest time I didn't know what my legs were for. When I was little Mammy used to put me in a contraption and I hated it. I would cry and scream but she knew I wasn't hurt or in pain I just bloody didn't want to do it. All I wanted was to lie down and suck my thumb. Why should I stand I wasn't comfortable and I didn't like it. My Mammy made me do it she often said it broke her heart to hear me cry but she was only doing it for my own good. She would put my music on and she would tell me that once I stopped screaming I would be able to hear my Andrea Bocelli. You know she was right.
Then my seizures kicked up again and for a while I wasn't able to use my stander or there were times I wasn't even able to wear my leg braces. The ortho thought Mammy was crazy when she asked about braces and pushed for my surgeries on my legs. Mammy doesn't believe in putting a patch on things she believes on fixing the problem. I have had 5 surgeries so far on my legs and I will be having another one some time this year.
I have been able to hold a standing position holding on or leaning against someone or some thing for awhile.Mammy said it was a goal she set for me once they said that I would probably be very tall when I grow up. All she could thing was how in the hell would she be able to move me from the van to my wheelchair or even from my bed to my wheelchair. So getting me to hold a standing position was the goal. I can do it and believe me I do hold on tight so I don't go down with a bang. .
Because my legs don't always get the signal from my brain to move walking or even taking steps has been a long work in progress. They won't approve a gait trainer that is just a fancy walker with all the bells and whistles on it because I don't take steps. I am getting bigger so its not like you are taking your 10-11 month old baby by the arms and telling them to step. I am 4 foot tall and weight 42lbs so I am a bit taller and heavier than a little baby so its not as easy on the person who is helping me. There is a device that a Mom invented but I am too big for the largest size that they make. Its called The Upsee you can check it out here http://www.fireflyfriends.com/upsee So if your child is too big for the traditional baby walker this might work for you.
Last year some amazing people bought me a special needs tricycle. The goal with using the tricycle was to build up my legs and believe it or not but I can make the trike move all by myself. So with my legs being stronger and being able to hold me up the next goal was to start me stepping. That is usually a 2 man job as someone has to hold me upright and someone else has to make me move my legs. All the time spent on my trike is paying off as I just took my first steps last night with Mammy. I really surprised her when I did it I think I surprised myself too as I could not stop laughing. Then my tooth fell out and I swallowed it. Guess the tooth fairy won't be paying me a visit
My Mammy has put a lot of time,effort, sweat and tears in to me. People have told her she is crazy and she shouldn't be pushing me some have even said she is a bully for making me do these things. You know if she let me do what I wanted to do I wouldn't be able to do half the things I can do. Oh yes I didn't like to do them and I was very vocal about it but you know she was right all the hard work does pay off in the end. My Mammy didn't give up on me and she made me do things like a Spartan race and I have a lot of people to thank for getting me to the finish line. Oh I can also swim and I learned all on my own with Mammys help