Tuesday started out like normal, PT, OT, and now the introduction of Speech Therapy. It all went well. There was some better focus today with no one to play with. We got to have our first overlapping session with a 3 year boy, Vari, who just had the same surgery as Nica but at St. Joseph’s hospital. He’s really cute and looks like he could be Will Smith’s kid. He’s 1 month older than Nica so they’re in the same spot developmentally. There are some differences in the way the CP has manifested in each of them. He’s really sweet and he’s a lot smaller than Nica. Eileen Summers, Nica’s former PT, always told us that CP kids usually look smaller or emaciated because of the calories they burn through just trying to move. Seeing him makes me think that Nica could have ended up that way. I’m glad she was a good eater.
After our morning session Nica was just exhausted. She had a light lunch and was starting to nod off. I almost just let her go to sleep but I thought better of it and I let her make the decision, go to sleep or go to the zoo. Guess which one the 3 year old chose. Within minutes we were meeting up with Vari and some of the other rehab kids for a short trip to Lowry Park Zoo. We got to ride on a new bus for our trip and Nica sang “It’s A Small World” most of the way there with a few Yeahs thrown in whenever went over a good bump or sharp turn.
The first animal we saw was called a Tapir but Nica felt Panda Pig would make a much better name. Next came the orangutans and they were fairly active but not as active as the simian monkeys who were just swinging and jumping like crazy. Nica spotted an actual swing in the paddock and begged and cried to go swing on it with the monkeys. I explained to her that it wasn’t the best idea and that if we found a swing we could actually get to we’d try it out. We went on to see some antelope, elephants, giraffes, zebras, a big python, tortoises, and more before we headed back towards the bus. On the way back, we tried to take a ride on the merry-go-round. Nica really wanted to ride on a zebra. Unfortunately a child riding right before it was our turn managed to get sick all over the ride and we didn’t have time to wait for them to clean it up. I told her that when we eventually get out of here that we could go to the Magic Kingdom and ride that merry-go-round all she wanted.
After we boarded the bus and got Nica’s chair strapped down we noticed that her favorite Ariel doll, the one she took into surgery, was missing. Thanks to the awesomeness of Ms. Katie and Mr Josh; however, Ariel was soon recovered from the zoo, where she was still watching the animals. Once she was returned to Nica she was immediately put to work as a pillow prior to passing out. What a fun day we had. I wish I could’ve gotten some pictures but I was usually holding Nica and pictures would have been difficult at best. They try for an outing every Tuesday so maybe we can get some pictures from the next one.
That evening we got our bath and took a look at Nica’s back. It’s finally getting better. It looks nicer each night. The first time we saw it with the scab off was when then infection was trying to set in and the incision was slightly swollen and red. There was a canal in her back and it creeped me out. Now it’s nice enough that I don’t mind seeing it and it no longer seems to hurt her when I wash it. Another week of this and it should start looking great.
Healing up