Monday, December 12, 2011

Hard Work

Titus consistently goes to therapy. And at times, it does seem that everything Titus does relates to therapy in some shape, form or fashion - whether it's physical, occupational, or speech (both for sounds and eating), much of his day is spent practicing over and over the little tasks that many of us just take for granted.

For years, Ren, his physical therapist at Baylor Our Children's House, has worked with Titus on the basics of sitting up, kneeling, crawling. She will work for weeks (and sometimes months) on training one muscle group on one task.

This year, Ren has been working on combining several of these repetitive motions for a task. Titus is now sitting for up to 2-3 minutes at a time (now, we have to put him in that position - but he can now hold himself there by working to maintain his balance with his arms/hands). He's not to the point where he can put himself into a sitting position, but he's working on it.

Another task they are working is crawling - and while he is far from actually being able to crawl, he is learning to move his arms - and then pull up on a bench. And this little video shows how he is doing. You have to watch him independently move his arms and reach up - and while you may not notice it at first glance, these are the little tasks that he works so hard at to accomplish.


We are very thankful for all of his therapists that work diligently with Titus. We are thankful that they know how to break it all down to small little tasks and train his muscles over and over till he remembers and "gets it". And we are so thankful for a content child who shows diligence in working so hard everyday. When I look at the number of people that work with Titus everyday, it's amazing the stamina that he builds up. Many days after 3 hours at school (where he works and plays), he goes straight to therapy in the afternoon. And while at times I think he may be so fragile, I also realize how his stamina is growing. He is showing us his personality more and more (and on occasion, he shows us a little attitude).

Thanks to all for consistent and sustained prayers for his health and strength. As we enter winter, (and cold/flu season), it's always a tricky time for Titus. Your prayers for his health are always appreciated.

For those of you who read the blog through the Feedburner email subscription, you may need to click on the link to the blog to see the video.