Ridin' with G-pa

For those of you who may not know, my dad has Multiple Scelrosis (MS). He was diagnosed in 1989 and the disease has gradually been limiting his mobility. About a month ago, dad had to start using his electric cart regularly. Well dad had mobility around the house, but it was difficult to leave the house. He had no way to get the cart out of the house. That's where the Knights of Columbus stepped in. A group of men built a ramp for my dad in the garage so that he can leave the house in his cart!

My family cannot begin to thank these men enough for what they have done. Chris, Olivia, and I stopped by to check out the new ramp and boy is it awesome! Here are some pictures of G-pa taking Olivia for a ride on his cart.

Strapped to G-pa's lap and headed down the ramp.

Olivia wants to help G-pa steer the cart and beep the horn.

Heading down the sidewalk and checking out the sights.

Coming back home!

Good news for Chris....

Today Chris had another appointment with his knee doctor and received great news! First of all, he no longer has to wear his brace!!! He is EXTREMELY excited about that. The doctor was glad to see that the petellar relocation has totally healed, but he is a little concerned about the screws in his knee. When he ran his hand over the area where the screws are located, he asked Chris if he could feel it. Chris told him he could and at times he is sore there. He wants Chris to continually monitor how his knee feels and note any changes he may experience. Next, he was told only one more week of PT!!! Again, Chris is grateful for this news.
When Chris went to PT today, he shared the good news with his therapist and experienced more great news. Today he was able to bend his knee the full 90 degrees that they have been looking for for the past few weeks. They also stopped doing the exercise that used electrodes to stimulate his quads. His quads were working well on their own and didn't need the extra help. He also started stair exercises at PT. His therapist said he can work on going up stairs "normally" now, but to continue coming down the stairs the way he has been (one foot at a time on each stair, not one foot after the other). At his last PT appointment, his therapist will give him additional exercises to do at home. He was told that if he ever feels like he isn't making the progress he should be or if something doesn't seem right, to give the office a call and he is welcome to come back in at any time.
As I said, Chris is very thankful for all of this great news. Each day he is making more and more progress and beginning to feel like his old self. Even though he has received so much good news and made tremendous progress, he still has a long road to go yet. He is definitely feeling like a dad again. Olivia willingly goes to him, sits on his lap, plays with him, etc. This has made a tremendous difference for Chris. He feels needed again. And not to sound selfish, but I am glad this has happened too. It's very difficult to get even a little break when Olivia won't go to her father without being forced to. Now that isn't the case. It's wonderful having our family back!

Investing in the future...

A couple of weeks ago, I found a deal I just couldn't pass up. We bought a piano for only $100!! The gentleman who owned it, stripped it and restained it. He replaced the ivory keys and something on the inside (I couldn't tell you what it is called). It is absolutely beautiful and sounds pretty good. The hammers eventually need to be replaced and it will need to be tuned, but it works great for now. I am thrilled we bought this. Chris has such an ear for music and loves tinkering around. When Liv gets upset and we just can't calm her down, we head to the front room. I hold her close and rock her while Chris plays a tune. It seems to help. Chris really wants to take lessons or at the very least teach himself chords and the proper way to play. My hope is that Olivia has her dad's musical abilities and will take piano lessons when she is old enough. Here are a few pictures of father and daughter making music together:

Some favorite pictures

Well I had promised some new pictures of Olivia, so I finally had the opportunity to go through the pictures we had taken lately and share with you some of our favorites. We hope you enjoy them....

Some tummy time while Daddy has PT

Horsing around with Papa, or is it Papa horsing around?

Talk about being lazy! Liv couldn't even be bothered to pick up her bottle!

Wonder if any of it made it in her mouth?

PT

First of all, I would like to apologize to all of you who regularly check our blog. I am so sorry that I haven't updated the blog lately. I have been overwhelmed with so many things at home, that when I do get a chance to write something all I want to do is crash. I will do my best to update some new pictures of Olivia soon, but I thought I would let everyone know how Chris' PT is going.

Chris had his second PT appointment yesterday, and it appears everything went good for him. In his words, they really worked him hard. I guess the PT person said they were nice to him on the first day, but now it is time to get to work! =) Chris rode the bike for about 10 minutes and they also did some stretches checking his range of motion. Based on what the therapist saw yesterday, she said she would like Chris to start coming on Fridays too. So now he has PT on M-W-F. We're working on remembering to do the stretches at home (I say "we" because I have to be the bad guy who reminds him to do the stretches after he's had a stressful day at work) which will help the road to recovery.

On the good news side, Chris is now using only one crutch. We borrowed some canes from my dad, but he's not quite ready to use those yet. Periodically, he will walk short distances without any assistance. He's doing great at getting himself ready totally on his own, and he pushes himself (within reason) a little everyday. He thought he may be able to drive now, but he's not there yet. When he sits in the drivers seat, his foot touches the accelerator when it's relaxed. He has a difficult time getting to the brake. So for now, Amy's taxi service is still running.

Well that pretty much brings you up to speed on PT. Liv is doing great and I will post new pictures and an update about her soon.