When it comes to mobility, Nina is doing pretty well. Her main form of movement is crawling, and she is able to climb almost anywhere. She occasionally uses her walker, but still she does not want to cruise holding on to furniture or try to balance on her own. When we ask her if she wants to walk on her own someday, most of the time she responds, "No, I can crawl."
She seems to have little motivation to try. However, we try to push her to do it as much as we can. She is doing fantastic holding on to one hand. And the thing is, she can walk! If she only realized that she is not balancing or "using" our hand to walk. But as soon as she feels us trying to move our hand, she is done.
Cerebral Palsy can be hard to understand, not only for us, but for her too.
So here is a little video of Nina walking. Her left side is much stronger and her right leg drags a little more. However, she can walk! If she only believed it and was willing to try! Like the PT said, it will be a while for her to walk unassisted. This goes beyond her physical capabilities and has a lot more to do with her emotional capabilities. She is just not ready to let go yet.
That was BEAUTIFUL!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness look at her go! We've watched it at least 100 times thanks to Oksana who laughs and smiles when Nina says "Hi" at the end! She looks great!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, look at her go! She's actually a lot "smoother" than I expected! In time, she'll be ready. It's a big step! (literally and figuratively!) I can only imagine being told you're whole life that you can't, and suddenly, you're told that you --can--. I imagine that takes a long time to switch your mindset.
ReplyDeleteThat "hi" at the end made me curious about her talking!! I don't think we've ever really heard her speak more than a word or two! Do you have a video with her speaking? I'd love to see one!
I'm curious about her accent, i.e. does she have a noticeable accent? Can you tell that she learned English as a second language?
My kids were all adopted at much older ages (8+) and they all have very noticeable accents (which I just love!) I've always wondered whether their age determined the degree of their accent or whether it's more about one's first language that determines how you speak your second (i.e. Asian native speakers tend to have much more noticeable accents since many of the sounds in English aren't present in many Asian languages). It's a major point of interest for me, as I grew up speaking 3 languages and don't have a noticeable accent when speaking any of these three, so I wonder about these things! *LOL*
-Alexis
WOW! That was amazing! I can't believe how great she does. She'll be walking on her own in no time!
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Nina! She looks great, and happy, too. I see a common theme sometimes, as our little guy has so many things he believes he can't do, and isn't willing to try. Reminds me of the "couldn't eat" unless someone else held their hand over his as he held the spoon. Does seem that the obstacles are more emotional or mental than physical, at times.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great job Nina! Loved, Loved, Loved seeing this.
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