Therapy continues

Aidan has had a busy day of rehab today. Russell got to enjoy all of it with Aidan since Erin wasn't at the hospital.

This morning was Physical Therapy. The therapist worked mostly on Aidan's legs today. She bent his knees and worked his ankles and ended up upset due to the pain. She then put him in a stander for a few minutes. He seemed to enjoy that pretty well. She then put him in the Tumble Form chair. He stayed in that while the Psychologist and I had a chat (about 30 minutes). Dr. Colleen (the physiatrist) came in and did a checkup on Aidan during this time, as well.

Occupational Therapy then took over. The therapist put him in the wheelchair and took him to the gym. She placed him on a mat and had him sitting up, laying on his side, and laying on his belly. She also took the time to work his legs a little more. At one point he actually burped during therapy!

Next up: Speech Therapy. Aidan was actually asleep during this, but the therapist could still work on him. He actually swallowed for her during the session, which is vitally important if we want to see the trach removed anytime soon.

While speech therapy was going on, the new wheelchair for us to try came in. They got Aidan fitted for it and he turned all kinds of aggravated (heart rate 150+), mostly because they were messing with his still very stiff ankles. He also burped a second time in the new chair.

After that, a return visit from the Occupational Therapist, who spent most of the half hour trying to get Aidan calmed down. Russell had to finish the job by holding him while a nurse cleaned around his trach and G-Tube.

The social worker came in to talk with us, also. She setup an appointment with a private nursing firm on Thursday afternoon. She asked if we had any questions or concerns. She now is looking into the Katie Beckett Waiver for Medicaid along with finding out what equipment and "alternative therapies" will be covered by Medicaid. (UPDATE: We found out that the CAP/C Program here in NC is similar or based on the Waiver.)

Russell spoke with the Respiratory Therapist on duty and asked about when Aidan would be able to get an artificial nose. He said they may try it tomorrow, but it will be some time before he will get one on a regular basis.

Russell spoke with Dr. Colleen and she is checking to see if serial casting will be happening tomorrow. Aidan is now resting from his long and busy day. We will update more tonight or tomorrow.