Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Our Full On Walker

Dylan finally is walking pretty much full time. He still crawls on and off, like when he's been walking for a long time and his leg seems to be bothering him, but he mostly walks. He's getting more and more stable and falling less and less, but he still falls quite a bit. However, he has such a determined little personality and will get back up over and over and over again. He's pretty amazing!

We've had some concerns about his leg and walking. The more he is walking the more we realize that his leg seems to give him some issues after a lot of walking. I don't know if this is normal and he just needs to work his way up to being able to walk more full time, or if he is having issues with his prosthesis or his knee or stump or what. It's very frustrating and sad at times when you can tell he is uncomfortable and limping really bad, but don't know exactly why. It's usually only after he's been walking for awhile. He also limps a little when you first put his leg on, like he needs to get used to it or something. There are just so many "what if's", I try not to stress, but I do. :) What if his knee is really bothering him, what if his leg isn't fitting him right, what if we are putting the leg on wrong (which is still always a worry, especially when he starts limping, is it not on perfectly?)??? His foot is pretty turned out, is it because of how his leg is just naturally turned out like that? Is this an issue that will need some physical therapy to correct or surgery or nothing? So many questions...so many worries still...

On top of leg stuff, Dylan is getting pretty much all of his teeth all at once, so he's been pretty miserable the last couple months. Which at times it's hard trying to figure out if it's teething that is causing him to be miserable or is his leg bothering him?

Overall, though, he really is doing SO good walking! He loves to walk and is getting more verbal about wanting me to put his leg on sooner in the mornings or after his nap so he can walk and does really well for quite awhile before he starts to limp and show signs of being uncomfortable. So maybe it is that he just needs to build up to being able to walk full time...who knows!?! Anyone who has gone through this....I'd love some feedback. THANKS!

CHECK OUT HIS SKILLS!!!

4 comments:

  1. I love this video, brings back sweet memories of our son:)

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  2. He's doing such a great job!!!! Go, Dylan!!! Our Hannah had to work up to wearing her leg more often throughout the day. So his limping could just be from that, as you mentioned in your blog. But, you're right, his foot is turned out quite substantially. Being my worried self :), I would call the prosthetist and make an appointment to have those concerns addressed. Hannah just got her new leg last week and began limping with it and having a little pain. Our prosthetist and care team worked with her for four hours yesterday trying to determine what was going on. I felt bad that they spent so much time with us, but that is what they are there for. They want our children to be comfortable. So, if I were you, I would call :) Press on, my friend.

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  3. Wow! he looks great! I can tell you that we have (and are) experiencing some of the same things/concerns. Jack gets PT weekly (has since he was 3 months old) and that other set of eyes seems to help correct any thing that we need to work on. You can see about getting PT services through early child intervention programs through your state, if not through your insurance company. It will be good in these early phases to help ensure he is walking correctly, weight bearing gradually on his affected leg etc... Also, I seem to make bi-weekly visits to the prosthetist to make small changes to his leg so jack won't limp, correct the position of his knee, give him more height, or figure out how to snug up different shoes, or make the liner tighter so it wont slip off. It seems like a never ending process, and I am sure it will settle down once they can tell us really whats going on and they stop growing so much! The most important thing - HE's WALKING! And that is priceless!

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  4. Very good progress little man. So proud of you. Keep on keeping on!

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