This week has been all about posture and core body control for Charbel. As those of you who have visited Charbel recently will know, he has trouble keeping his head/neck up straight. He has a tendency to pull his head to the right. We are constantly telling him to pick up his head and turn it to the left, which he can do, but it takes consistent reminding on our part. As a result of leaning his head/neck over to the right most of the time, his entire posture is affected, and of course, his neck is stiff and sore.
We’ve been trying very hard to get him to stretch out his neck and hold his head in a straight position for more than a few seconds…it has been very challenging so far. To make matters more complicated, his seating in the chair is all wrong, and we are constantly pulling and pushing and lifting him up. It is obvious that he is not comfortable in it, just by looking at him. He also lets us know by constantly complaining!
Yesterday the people that built his custom chair were in to take a look at it and see if any changes can be made to make it more comfortable. We are also trying to make it more vertical so that he is not always leaning backwards, which at this point is counter productive for him.
The good news is that his upper body is gaining strength. Dad and Robert have been sitting him on the table, and he can now hold is own body weight and sit almost straight! (A video of Charb sitting on the table is posted in February Videos). In another development, Robert brought Charbel a ‘regular’ wheel chair, and he can sit upright in it (although again, his posture is not great) and he can even use his hands to wheel himself around (see video in album). We were all very excited about this development, that is to say all of us except Charb who didn’t think that it a great accomplishment at all! He wants to walk, which we all believe in time he will be able to do…
Charb’s legs are getting stronger by the day. The left is still MUCH weaker than the right, but we have seen some improvement in the last week. He has been moving his ankle more, and he is now able to lift his left leg if it is hanging off the side of the bed.
Take care everyone…hard work and miracles!
About Me
- RouhanaMaximus
- We must learn how, and when, and how much to push ourselves. Without such knowledge we won't be able to get the 'job done'. Complaining and complaints will only put your progress at a standstill. In order to avoid such an event we must cast a smile on our faces, put our good luck boots on and start registering a solution for our negative thoughts and feelings. Solutions are heading your way. How do we come up with a solution that biffs us out of our funk? The answer is coming, my friends. One idea to pull ourselves from such an evil state is to clear our heads by doing something that takes our mind of our worries or issues. Walking, listening to music, watching TV, playing video games are all outlets for us to take our minds off the big issues. The problem is, by deflecting the issues, we are only welcoming them back to bother us once again. In order to successfully handle the root of our problem, we must tackle it head on and come up with a solution. To everyone that has helped me on my road to success, thanks, cheers, and bottles up! The champ is coming back to town...
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