More on Mason

Jay and I took Mason to Pediatric Physical Therapy in Falmouth today. We were joined by the PT person from CDS who will do Mason's upcoming treatments. We spent about an hour in the office and came up with a plan to help Mason learn to walk flat footed.

Initially, the therapist was hoping to start some stretching exercises so she could determine what type of treatment to use on Mason. As soon as she began her physical exam, she knew her plan would need to change. She noted right away just how tight his ankle cords are and just how limitied his range of motion is. She told us that most children his age have a +25 range. Mason was 0. So we have a long way to go. As the other therapist noticed a couple of weeks ago, she was stunned at just how strong he his.

So instead of beginning with stretching exercises to loosen his ankles, they are going to cast both legs for a period of at least 3 weeks. Starting next Tuesday the first set of casts will be put on with Mason's foot flat, it will stay in place for 6 days then be removed for day...we can then bathe him and take him back for the next set which will be put on while adding a wedge to further stretch the cords...6 more days, off a day, then back on with even more stretch.

She said with most kids, the 3 weeks is generally is enough time to get to the point where PT can begin. Most, being the key word. Where he is so set on his toes, it may take longer.

We're very hopeful that this will be what it takes to get him walking normally. Though she isn't trying to get to +25 with Mason, she feels like we should be able to get to +15. And while the original plan was to have the PT visits at our home it looks like now we'll be going to Falmouth so he can use the equipment (treadmills, gait machines etc). The plan calls for 8 weeks after the casts come off with her, and the CDS plan is for 12 weeks, so we'll see how this all comes together as we go along. The trickiest part will be getting the casts in place - he needs to sit still and not walk for 2-3 hours afterwards while it sets up. Part of the "sit still" plan is for Mason to wear a compression shirt/suit while the casts are being placed on his legs. The 2 piece suit is very much like pj's made of really, really, tight Spandex. They called it a Superman suit for Mason. The idea of it is to be just like the swaddle we used to wrap him in as a baby, that tightness against his body will help to settle him down. In fact, he wore it for about a half hour during our visit and while he had it on he actually stood at a table and played with a toy for about 4 mins. And for Mason, 4 minutes is like an eternity. Prior to putting it on, he didn't play with anything for more than 30 seconds. Though he can't have the pants on while they do the casts, he will be able to wear the shirt.

As for the Occupational Therapy, that's due to begin next Wednesday. His therapist, Lori will be coming to the house for those visits. She'll be working on his Sensory issues to see if we can find ways to help him calm himself down...and perhaps sleep. She may even have us purchase a compression suit for home use as part of her plan.

So that's where we are with everything at this point!