CI Summer Camp Week 4

Friday marked the end of Anna's Advance session this summer.  And what a session it was!  Anna continued to work hard throughout the week, but was definitely feeling it.  She is just now getting back to her more typical energy levels.

This week's activities included lots of pulleys, lots of stairs, "breaks" during which she played games with Melanie while standing on dynamic surfaces or tall kneeling, or half kneeling, preparing pictures and videos for her home exercise program, and making a special dessert with her occupational therapist on Thursday to be shared at Friday's party, a CI Advance tradition.

Anna's numbers for the week included doing the 10 meter walking test with crutches in about 7.5 seconds, walking about 550 feet in 6 minutes using her crutches, and taking 109 steps unassisted (think very, very small and controlled steps).  Wow.  Awesome progress.  The "plan" in our family is for Anna to use her crutches when she is with us, unless fasted walking is necessary or she is fatigued, then we will switch back to the walker.

Activities outside of therapy this week for Anna included some time in the pool on Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening plus a couple of afternoons of playing with playdoh with the siblings.

Kate (mostly) and Ethan (somewhat) worked very conscientiously on making characters from Beauty and the Beast (we've had the molds for years, since I picked them up at a garage sale one summer).  Kate made sure their clothes, skin, and accessories were accurately depicted, or at least with the colors she had available.

Thursday afternoon we took advantage of the break in the rainy weather and met CI friend Melanie and her family at Olbrich Gardens for the Blooming Butterflies exhibit.  The indoor portion was amazing, as the butterflies all decided to enjoy the few brief hours of sunshine after what had otherwise been a cloudy, rainy day.  The outdoor part was okay, but with lots of bothersome mosquitoes.

These girls enjoy their shared time at CI greatly.  What a blessing they are to one another.

Kate and Ethan came along, as well, and I think had a bit of fun, too, although not as much as they have had in the past.

Speaking of Kate, she participated in a morning camp at the UW Arboretum this past week and, I think, soaked up many good parts of the experience.  In fact, after her last day when I asked her to rank the different summer camps she has done (Camp Pawprint at the Humane Society, two camps at Aldo Leopold Nature Center last year, and now this), she put this camp at the top of her list.  The slower, observational pace of the activities seemed to be a good fit for her.  She came home each day talking about different plants or insects that she was able to watch for long periods of time.  We will have to keep this in mind when we begin planning for next summer.

Kate also had a check-up last Friday afternoon at the doctor's office.  Everything is just fine with this 8 year old.  70% for height, 70% for weight.  She has been following this approximate curve for most of her life :)

Ethan and I alternated our mornings with gardening tasks and appointments for me.  He was a good sport, but we were both tired of all the driving by the time Friday rolled around.  The rest and recuperation of the weekend was good for all of us.  Well, the others had a bit more rest that this momma.  Peaches, corn, beans, etc. were all ready for harvest.  But all of it amazingly delicious, especially those peaches.

I'm hoping that the next several weeks bring plenty of opportunities for making summer memories before the school routine begins again ...