New Adventure

First few moments in her dynamic stander

Had to try out opening and closing the door by herself

Busy at work the next night


It is amazing to think that you can find something in the back of a garage in a big box that could change a person's life. Better yet, if my brain was functioning on all cylinders I would have remembered that I put it there last June. So here it is...a dynamic stander by Rifton. Here is the background. Last June, 2 days before we left for Michigan, a local hospital called to offer me an almost brand new dynamic stander that they ordered in the rehab department for a kiddo and never used it. They wanted to give it to Josie or Mending Kids. Well since I was leaving 2 days later for 5 months and I was packing my house so the renters could move in, I just picked up this big box, never opened it and put it in the back of my parents garage. Fast forward to Monday night...I went into the garage to put some of the boxes that I shipped home from MI in there and noticed this great big box taking up a lot of room. You can imagine my shock when I opened it and realized what it was. The next day after school, I brought it in the house and set up the dynamic stander. Josie went crazy. She spent the next 2 hours STANDING and playing. She played with Luke and he pulled her where ever they wanted to play. She rolled herself all over. She LOVED it. It even had to stay in our room while she slept that night. The next morning the first thing she wanted to do was to get in it. I made her get dressed first so she could be ready for school. She even ate breakfast standing at the table while I was in the back of the house in the shower...that is how safe she is in it. We did make a rule that she always had to walk into the house with her canes and also to the stander if she got in it later. I can't let her get away with not using the canes. She is so good and sturdy on them she can't lose that. It is so exciting to see her joy with the new found independence. The stander is too small for her technically so I am ordering her bigger wheels so she doesn't have to bend over to make it go. I can't believe in 2 days how much more time she spent standing and weight bearing because of this thing. It is so good for her on so many accounts. Aw yet another new adventure in her life. PS. If you were at Costco yesterday and she took off your ankles while doing her fancy dancy spinning trick, I apologize!!

As for the rest of the week... the girls got to be at therapy together on Monday. They do love to be together. Josie rather play with Teresa the whole time so next week we will have to insist on some harder working during that time. Teresa is getting better with her standing in the spider inside the cage. I can't say she loves it but starting to tolerate it a bit more. Liz and Josie were happy to be back together. Liz was more excited to be together without a seizure adventure this time...sorry Liz, she must have been saving them all for you!!





Last night was the TACH fundraiser for Children's Hospital Los Angeles at Round table Pizza in La Canada. TACH stands for Teens for the Advancement of Children's Hospital. What it is is a student program that raises money and awareness for the adolescent Medicine program at CHLA. A group of teens started this a few years back and now it is a mini class at the high school. Anyway, Josie was helping the teens last night check in the volunteers who came. She loved doing this and the kids where cute to have her. We ened up taking our pizza up to Aunt Steph's to have a pizza party there with the boys.



Mending Kids is putting on another cardiac mission for the next 2 weeks in Ethiopia. Our team over there is doing an amazing job saving the lives of so many children. I have attached the link to a news report that Dorothy Lucey did on FOX from over there. Dorothy is local morning news reporter in LA and is also on our Executive Board. There will be other segments as well and I will let you know so you can see them.
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/good_day_la/dorothy-lucey-via-skype-in-ethiopia-20101208

Also, Ann Drummond is doing a blog from there and you can find that on our MKI website at www.mendingkids.org under the tab Blog. Unbelievable, lifesaving miracles that are happening there. Bless the children, families, surgeons and all on the mission team.

That is it for now. Off to the OC tomorrow and will return Saturday. Will post again then. Jenny and Josie