1 year + 134 days

Posted on: 09/08/2015

Ava has worked hard at her therapy this last week and managed to stand independently for over 4 minutes! I'm not sure how far we got with the orthotist though. He suggested a rigid ankle-foot orthotic ('AFO'), whereas the Portland therapists have suggested a hinged AFO. The hinge sounds logical, because Ava has terrible tightness in her ankles and also needs to be able to bend her knees as part of her walking rehabilitation. So I'm not sure who is right, someone who has never met Ava and assessed her for five minutes, but who is a specialist, or the therapists who have been working with Ava for several hours every day. I have asked that they at least discuss their suggestions with each other in order to reach some understanding and agreement. Communication seems to be a major issue with Ava's care all round, so hopefully this won't be another uphill struggle. Rather frustratingly, whatever is agreed, the orthotics will not be ready until after the start of the new school term. We will therefore be unable to buy Ava's new school shoes until we have them, so she might just get her wish of wearing trainers to school after all, at least for a week or so. The rest of last week was slightly less hectic as Richard is on holiday, which has somewhat lightened my load. We were all happy to see Grandma, Poppy & Auntie Emma who were in town for fleeting visits and this weekend the girls have been enjoying our 'staycation' by sunbathing on the terrace.