"When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly." -- Edward Teller
So Lucas has a new chair... a "positioning" chair, they call it. His OT recommended that we use one from their facility because Lucas is probably still months away from sitting up, and this chair puts him in the proper position so he can use his hands and concentrate on fine motor skills. They gave it to us on loan (apparently they are very expensive and take many months to get approved through insurance), but their facility has several of these from parents that donated them after they were no longer needed. Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this... when she said "chair" I'm thinking something portable, like a Bumbo seat, but more sophisticated. I walked into their equipment room and it was nothing even close to what I had pictured. There were several contraptions that we tried out, she asked me to bring Lucas there for sizing. The only way I can describe these things is something you would see Christopher Reeves in -- not really a wheelchair (but not far from it), with trunk supports, head supports, padding on both sides of the head, etc. It took my stomach. I felt like I was getting a hard dose of reality, smack in the face... I hadn't gotten around to dealing with that reality yet, that this may become our lives. Wow. Its not that I wouldn't be ok with it, I just wasn't prepared that day. I had to fight back tears as she moved him from chair to chair, and I had to step out of the room at one point.
The PT helping us wanted to try Lucas on a treadmill that day (yes, I said treadmill). They strapped him into this thing and tried to get him to walk with the movement. It didn't go over well at all... he's a long way from that! And the PT was very aggressive as he whined and cried to get out, so Mom was not happy. I'm going to need more time to come around to that one. I'm actually glad I met this PT and got to see her personality because she was the one originally signed to start working with Lucas. After that meeting, Gabrielle changed the PT to someone else that would "fit" us better. Whew. We now have a girl named Melody, she is so sweet and gentle with him (but stern when she needs to be), and we love her!
Gabrielle (our OT) actually apologized to me afterwards, she said she should have prepared me and she was sorry that it took me by surprise. She reassured me that this was temporary and not to get too caught up in everything I saw. Still it was tough to swallow.
So we picked out "our" chair out of about ten, and luckily this one had removable head supports, so it doesn't look as scary (we actually ended up with the most mild contraptions of all the chairs). That appointment actually took place a month ago, but it wasn't until now that I finally mustered up the energy to put it together and have it sitting in our home. I think I was in denial that we needed it and that it could really help him. It took me awhile to come around to it and Gabrielle went on vacation for a few weeks, so it gave me an excuse not to use it for awhile! :-)
Much to my resistamce in taking it home, we have found that it is actually very good! I'm over it looking large and hideous in our home, with decor from the 80's, and coming to terms that if it means disabilities, then that is what it means, and I have to accept it at one point. I've come to the acceptance too that he may special equipment to help him learn, as I've recently learned of many other micro-preemie parents that needed that step. But hey, if it gets the child to eventually walk on their own, that is all that matters.
Its actually quite nice, we can push him up to the dining room table and he plays, and plays, and plays at the table, and sits there like a big boy... something we had trouble doing for any length of time on the floor.
The PT helping us wanted to try Lucas on a treadmill that day (yes, I said treadmill). They strapped him into this thing and tried to get him to walk with the movement. It didn't go over well at all... he's a long way from that! And the PT was very aggressive as he whined and cried to get out, so Mom was not happy. I'm going to need more time to come around to that one. I'm actually glad I met this PT and got to see her personality because she was the one originally signed to start working with Lucas. After that meeting, Gabrielle changed the PT to someone else that would "fit" us better. Whew. We now have a girl named Melody, she is so sweet and gentle with him (but stern when she needs to be), and we love her!
Gabrielle (our OT) actually apologized to me afterwards, she said she should have prepared me and she was sorry that it took me by surprise. She reassured me that this was temporary and not to get too caught up in everything I saw. Still it was tough to swallow.
So we picked out "our" chair out of about ten, and luckily this one had removable head supports, so it doesn't look as scary (we actually ended up with the most mild contraptions of all the chairs). That appointment actually took place a month ago, but it wasn't until now that I finally mustered up the energy to put it together and have it sitting in our home. I think I was in denial that we needed it and that it could really help him. It took me awhile to come around to it and Gabrielle went on vacation for a few weeks, so it gave me an excuse not to use it for awhile! :-)
Much to my resistamce in taking it home, we have found that it is actually very good! I'm over it looking large and hideous in our home, with decor from the 80's, and coming to terms that if it means disabilities, then that is what it means, and I have to accept it at one point. I've come to the acceptance too that he may special equipment to help him learn, as I've recently learned of many other micro-preemie parents that needed that step. But hey, if it gets the child to eventually walk on their own, that is all that matters.
Its actually quite nice, we can push him up to the dining room table and he plays, and plays, and plays at the table, and sits there like a big boy... something we had trouble doing for any length of time on the floor.
Sitting up like a big boy in his new chair
On the treadmill
Not a happy camper! (this is Gabrielle in the black shirt)
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