Last week we coordinated a meetup with Daniel's PT to go hiking. He found a short hike at Lair O' the Bear that was shady and short. Daniel was easily up to the task and marched at his usual breakneck speed on the hike. He impressed his PT and had no issues with the climbing and unusual terrain we crossed. All we had to do was keep him cool and covered up from the harmful sun. Luckily it was a cool morning and we didn't spend too much time on the hike.
Daniel was cleared for hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding at the Right Step in Littleton. Before leaving for a session we always get out his cowboy boots and jeans to wear and then he knows where we are going in the car. Once we arrived Daniel ran to the barn to find the team and his old pal Louie all saddled up for Daniel's first ride. Daniel was amazing and seemed to enjoy his lesson even with a new instructor.
We've always wondered if Daniel knew or understood how he caught on fire from the gas burner on the stove. We haven't involved him in cooking (yet) and he doesn't seem to act scared in the kitchen, but something happened today that changes all that. Several days ago Daniel was working one-on-one with his behavioral specialist Hannah. Daniel and Hannah have only been working together a short time so she is still learning about his quirks and limited language. They were making a batch of brownies and Daniel was helping with the mixing and stirring. Dawn entered the kitchen, turned on the oven and left them to continue.
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| The evil stove where his shirt caught on fire |
Another achievement in Daniel's life is that he can move and bend his arms so that he can scratch his nose. Sounds funny huh. He can touch his head and hair. That's been a nice breakthrough. He's finding all kinds of ways to bend and reach so that he can do more self-help things like getting his socks and shoes on in the morning. I credit much of his greater range of motion to Dawn and Daniel himself who go through about 6 hours of various types of stretching & skin therapy daily! Dawn is the taskmaster driving many of these daily activities.
One last neato accomplishment (I can boast can't I?) is that Daniel learned with his OT that he can lay on his big therapy ball on his tummy again. I think he's been wanting to do that for awhile, but he couldn't quite move his body in a way that would be comfortable - until now. He used to do this all the time and could balance and roll around. It's a great way to stretch.
A few days ago we took an evening walk and stopped for some nice cream, but not before we took this photo of Daniel with his new wings and rainbows in the background.
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| Phoenix rising |
In other news we visited the burn clinic today next to the burn ICU where he spent so much time. His checkup was good and Doctor Cammie remarked that his skin looked really soft and healthy. She also cleared him for swimming so we can begin to do weekly swims soon at Swimlabs. We've been slowly weaning Daniel off his pain meds and we've seen no issues with this so we continue to move him away from the various medications that's he's taking.
After the checkup Daniel and I walked over to the burn ICU for a quick visit and we saw many of his nurses, his surgeon and a few therapists who all helped him through the most difficult weeks. It was like a mini reunion! Daniel was giving out high-fives. They were really glad to see him and I think he felt good about the visit too. Then we rejoined Dawn and headed out to the car and back home.
Generally Daniel seems pretty happy. He's gaining weight and he eats well - maybe better than ever.
Are there times when he's difficult? Sure, we're seeing that part of him too. That's something we've been working on most of his life. With some of the new resources and people helping Daniel now we think we can make improvements. It's got to be tough when you don't talk or tell people what's wrong. Somehow through all this and Daniel's other challenges he seems to be cheerful. I love that about him!
