And Just Like That

Well, friends, we have a walker!  Just like that, she went from standing to walking.  And by just like that, I mean it took her less than a week to figure it all out.  I am completely amazed and can't believe it.  With most things, I thought - and usually expected - that she would eventually figure it out.  Sitting, rolling, crawling, even wheeling all happened later than I expected, but she still did them.  Walking was something I honestly never thought I'd see... not because I didn't think she could do it, but because I couldn't imagine how it would happen.  

Leah has absolutely no feeling or movement in her legs, from her hips down to her toes.  She needs a lot of help and bracing to stand up.  When Leah was 1, she got a stander so we could get her upright.  A few months later, we got her into a rolling stander so she could roll while standing up.  We also borrowed a walker from friends, and stood her up in her stationary stander while holding onto the walker.  I have a video of her doing that; when I asked her if she wants to walk someday, she nodded yes.  We kept pushing on, last year getting her braces that went from her hips to her feet.  She mainly used them to stand and fall.  Falling, not walking.

Just about a month ago, we started doing stander time every night after dinner.  For a long time, she's been hit or miss with the rolling stander.  She complained a lot about getting in it, though I'm not really sure why, so she hadn't used it must.  But recently, by bribing her with chocolate, she's been much more interested in it.  She realized that she could reach the drawer with the "Leah bites" and we let her have 1.  Then she realized she could reach the light switches in the dining room.  That was fun!  So finally, after all that... the stander, the walker, the rolling stander, and the falling... she was ready to walk!

It happened so fast.  Last Sunday night, Leah was in her braces holding to her walker and doing her falling.  I asked her if she could move forward.  She kind of hopped.  Then she did it again, and all of the sudden, she was hopping a few feet ahead.  And again into the kitchen, across the dining room and back.  Monday night we did more walking, more on Tuesday.  I took her to the library on Friday and she walked for an hour and a half.  At first I had to move her walker for her, but now she has that figured out too.

The way she does it is by pushing up on the walker and swinging her body forward.  She is a bit of a daredevil and likes leaning really far, so we have to remind her to be careful or she'll fall.  It's a slow process right now, just like it was for her to learn, but she's here.  She's walking!  The other night, she told me she wanted me to chase her around the kitchen.  Chase!  

This has been an incredible week.  Leah has certainly done everything in her own time, and now this opens up the world to her in a whole new way.  Maybe someday she'll be using forearm crutches and walking around as her primary mode of transportation instead of using her wheelchair.  Or maybe this will be fleeting and the walking will only last for a little while.  Either way, it doesn't change what she's done this past week, or how proud I am of our girl.  She continues to amaze me with her spirit and determination.  

We have lots of pictures and videos that I'll be posting soon.