The Land of Know...

I had a lengthy discussion with Roa's physical therapist, Mary, about his disheartening MRI results, therapy goals, and alternative therapy ideas.  It felt good to share, bounce off ideas, cry, and vent to Mary.  Mary has her doctorate in PT.  She worked specifically with peds. to get her pediatric certificate.  I value Mary's opinion and her experiences working with tots with motor delays.
We discussed in length Roa's struggles, my fears of the MRI results, our search for help for Roa. 
Mary shared with me that MRIs are fairly new to the world of CP.  She said in her 20+years, MRIs usually were performed if the child had concerns such as seizures.  In one case, Mary worked with a little guy who was walking with a walker and talking before an MRI, performed due to onset of seizures, revealed that a large portion of the white matter in the left hemisphere of his brain just didn't exist.   I NEEDED to hear a story like that!
Mary doesn't want us give up on traditional PT.  She is highly motivated to get Roa walking.  We want to do the very best for Roa and are pursuing all options in therapies.  It makes for a busy schedule, but we will continue to go above and beyond for our boy.

So, our schedule looks as- 
Sunday/ day off for church and family time  
Monday/OT homebased and aquatic therapy with Dad at Courage Center
Tuesday/ Anat Baniel Method therapy homebased  
Wednesday/ ECFE school group with EI teacher and  afternoon Craniosacral therapy homebased  
Thursday/PT homebased   
Friday/ Momma therapy day! and Speech therapy once per month or PT at Courage Center once per month 
Saturday/ Conductive Education group in at the Plus Center and aquatic therapy at Courage Center
--Three nights per week- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy homebased
**Chiropractic adjustment every 2 weeks with Dr. John

I have had such great response from parents and conductors in the world of Conductive Education.  I am very intrigued.  We are starting with a once a week trial of the program as recommended by Ors at the Plus Center.  I will follow through with methods at home and see how it looks for Roa and we will go from there.

Today, Roa and I are off to the Upper Room Wellness, a center that offers Brain-Based Therapy for a variety of conditions including, Depression, ADHD, Autism and CP.  This is just a consultation to see what ideas they have for a toddler with CP.  Like most of my discoveries, they do not have alot of  experience with someone as young as Roa, but are willing to check him out.  Wish us luck!

Oh and.... check out the video of our boy on the move in his gait trainer. He is as happy as a clam to move on his own and be chased by Mom and Dad!