Saying Good-Bye to Wendy

I knew the day would come when Wendy would have to leave us but never thought it would be this hard to say good-bye to her. All of Raquel's therapists are wonderful, it's just that Wendy & Raquel really have a special bond. Raquel is always happy to see her "friends", but her face truly lights up as soon as Wendy walks through the door. Most times, Raquel would be happy with sitting on her lap cuddling instead of playing.

Raquel worked really hard in OT with Karin today. She was wheelbarrel walking in five second intervals (that may not seem like a lot but you try it!), and Karin commented on how much she is changing. Her finger grasping, although stronger on her left hand, is improving. She no longer gets frustrated doing the puzzles because of this. And on other tasks, when frustrated, she now will take a quick break on her own and calm herself before coming back to finish. She also is smashing open the plastic egg shells. Karin said that she is much more "mentally organized" and is acting a lot like a toddler should be at her age. That was great to hear. I also noticed that the dialog changed today. Instead of "no mouth", it was "If you put this in your mouth again, we're all done." And Raquel listened. She also talked a lot more and Karin noticed that as well. She's very encouraged about her being on the GFCF Diet. So am I. It's getting easier each day.

A couple things that we're still working on: strengthening her "extensors", which I think are the muscles on the back of her arms & back. We do this by continuing to have her stretch and reach in different positions, usually on the exercise ball, or when she's doing the wheelbarrel walking. She also wants her balance to improve. She said today that she sometimes walks like she's in a pinball machine, especially when she's tired. She said that this will also improve when her core continues to strengthen. It also has something to do with the "vestibular inner ear", but I'm not even going to attempt to describe this one. I probably didn't even spell it right.

Right before she left, Raquel became really aggitated and started the hair pulling & scratching. Nothing would calm her but the good news is that as upset as she was, she only threw herself back once, which is huge. Once she left, I gave her some lunch but she still seemed tired from all of the OT. She really did work a lot today. I was proud of her.

Then Wendy came. She asked if I heard from anyone and I told her yes. She said, "So you know this is my last day?" and I said yes. She then just went to Raquel and hugged and hugged her. Therapy was different today because I knew she was leaving. Mike came home at lunch and all of us just pretty much talked while they played. Raquel was still pretty tired from OT and didn't want to play as much as usual, but for the most part was very cooperative.

Of course I was in tears when she left. What I couldn't say was: Thank you, Wendy, for taking such great care of my girl(s) and for giving me so much encouragement. You will be so very missed. Every time I do a "nose kiss" I'll think of you. I'm glad you'll be reading my blog.