March 26, 2012

Most Amazing Weekend

On Saturday, Charlie had another absolutely amazing hippotherapy session. Tiffany (therapist), Tulip (horse), Allie (handler), Jim, and Don (volunteers) make the most incredible team. Charlie played the puzzle games and gave high-fives all around as they worked on his flexibility and strength.

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See all the photos from the session on Flickr

Then we were off to the playground with Pow-Pow where Charlie navigated the slides and bridges without dropping to his knees to crawl. Given all his hard work that morning, I thought he would be content to play around the house after his nap. But he completely floored Joe and I by walking, that's right everyone, around the house without his walker. He must have done 12 laps before he turned his attention to a game of basketball. Here is a 40 second video of one lap.

4 comments:

mgnsbrk said...

That's incredible! Way to go Charlie!

Leslie said...

So I check your blog every so often, I have a 3year old with Cerebral Palsy. We're signed up for Hippotherapy in Lehi, but can't decide if we want to go through with it, as it is a big commitment. Your posts are very encouraging and I am so happy for your family in that Charlie is doing so well.

Leslie said...

One more thing, we were able to get a grant for Hippotherapy from http://www.uhccf.org/. If therapy is working well for you and you need more funding perhaps you can apply.

Joe said...

Leslie, thanks for checking in. Hippotherapy is expensive but we've found it so rewarding. As you may have read, it was a challenge at first. Charlie started right after his second birthday which was tough. I think at 3, you may find slightly less hesitation. But I can almost promise you that after a few lessons (I think 4 or 5 was Charlie's magic number) it will be well worth it. He loves it now, and is so excited to see Tulip.

We have some new videos to post. I'll try to get them up because they show a lot more of the process.

If you'd like to come up to Charlie's next lesson at the NAC, we'd be happy to let you and your son or daughter see what it looks like. And who knows? Maybe you'll get an encouraging reaction?