Friday, October 1, 2010

Friday, October 1, 2010

All the young ladies and women out there (and men if they will admit it) will relate to a key skill Sydney worked on today – self grooming! Today her OT had her stand up in front of the bathroom sink and fix her own hair! Boy, was it ever hard work! It is a killer to get into a standing position from the wheelchair (hence the intense arm workouts!) Sydney did it with help from Josh. The next step was to balance against the sink with weight on both legs, and be brave enough to lift both arms up. Scary! She did it! This morning she was probably wondering if having long hair was really worth it, as she had to brush it out herself! She was able to do this (with a lot of grabs for the sink!) Next she whipped it into a quick ponytail (the preferred hairstyle for rehab), and wala! She self-groomed! She felt quite a bit of self-accomplishment from this and was grinning from ear to ear! We know she will continue to get better at this as she gets stronger. She needs to work up to curls for Senior Prom, right?

Which reminds me of Audrey Hepburn's favorite poem (and one of my favorites too!) It reminds me a lot of Sydney.

Time Tested Beauty Tips
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored,
renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;
one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,
because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

Now we know Sydney tries to break her records every day, and today was no exception! She walked 196 feet without stopping! Wow! In the afternoon, she paced herself to work on endurance, and walked 350 feet while taking a rest every 50 feet. We want her to work up to walking to school, right? :)

For OT, Sydney practiced rolling her wheelchair up a ramp – which is harder than it looks! But if she can climb Timp, she can do this – right? And she did it! She also practiced car transfers (getting into and out of a car from a wheelchair). She is working up to her big outing next Thursday – going to the Mall for lunch! An essential outing for a teenager!

Although Sydney's first priority is to work hard to get better, she is slowly going to “dip her toe” into the schoolwork arena to see what she is able to do. Thank you to her school teachers, counselors and principal for working with her!

Last, I thought I would mention something that gave me a sigh of gratitude. Yesterday I obtained a copy of the medical records to send to the insurance company. As I read through these sobering reports last night, I came across the assessment of Sydney when she was admitted to Rehab. Naturally, as the doctor examined Sydney's physical state, he was sobered by the severity of her injury. As the doctor described Sydney and her physical condition he said “She has a pleasant affect possibly disproportionate to the degree of her disability.” I believe he was quite taken aback by her pleasant, optimistic and calm demeanor when faced with what he anticipated to be a bleak future. We are so grateful for the blessing of recovery Sydney received, for the power of the fast and prayer, and for the tender mercy of the Lord to allow her to recover use of her limbs. Because of Sydney's great faith, she has been able to be at peace and optimistic through this experience. We are grateful for this.

To you all, we appreciate all the support, love, prayers and kind acts you have shown to Sydney and our family! We love you and appreciate you all!