Melissa continues to do well. She has been very healthy really since she was born. She continues to be seizure free. Her strength continues to improve. We can see the strength in her legs now. Her legs used to be just bones it was so sad to see how weak her legs were. Now I can’t even get my fingers around her thighs-yea! While she is not sitting up or consistently rolling over her strength is amazing. She is tolerating being in her Tumble Forms stander for up to an hour at a time-wow! When in her Amby jump-jump she does a better job of not falling to the side. She can roll over when she really wants to or when Lois her physical therapist tricks her into rolling.

She is enjoying letting us carry her in the Kozy Carrier and the Moby wrap again. I also carry her in the framed back carrier as well. She does such a good job of holding the back of her head up when she is in all of the carriers.

She just got new ankle-foot orthotics (AFO’s). They are more flexible and she tolerates wearing them for longer periods of time.

We found a tricycle that works well for Melissa. I was so excited when I found it at a second hand store.

Melissa is still swimming on Fridays. Her physical therapist loves working with her in the pool because she says they always have great sessions in the pool. Melissa’s favorite time of swimming is when Lois lets her swim on her own with the horseshoe collar on. She can dog paddle quite well on her tummy and her back.

We started doing brushing with Melissa. Since starting it she is reaching and grabbing things more consistently. We have also been working trying to get her to feed herself. Her occupational therapist made a cuff that goes around her hand to hold the spoon. She is tolerating using the cuff for longer periods of time.

To those who don’t know Melissa you may wonder why these small changes are so very exciting. To us we were given no hope for Melissa from the doctors so the fact that she is even still alive is a reason in and of itself to celebrate. This fact makes everything no matter how small it may seem very big to us.