Abby update - February 6

Lee Ann asked me to provide the update today as Tuesdays are my day to accompany Abby to therapy. Before leaving from home, Abby spent several minutes working with Arby on our agility course. I mostly peered from a distance at the two of them so not to interfere, but was very pleased to see how well the two of them still work together. Arby seems to have adjusted to the slower pace and quieter voice commands and appears to be so pleased to be working again. It warms my heart so to see their bond and can see the two of them competing in trials again in the near future. I believe the maturation of their relationship is very similar to that we Christians walk with our Lord. As our relationship with Christ grows, we spend less time blazing around the course straying toward obstacles only being able to be called back on track by a loud thunderous voice from above, to one where we obediently run to a still, small voice.

Well, back to therapy. Tuesdays are the one day of the week when Abby receives biofeedback. Today we moved to a new muscle group (the hips) after spending the last two weeks on the quads. Part of the work today required standing on one foot, which she did quite well (I guess my Tai Chi work with her is paying off). Her balance continues to improve daily. After an hour there she went straight to occupational therapy where she worked on spatial skills, having to construct figures to match those in a book using a variety of geometric shapes. This required having to figure out that two triangles placed back to back would form a square, as there were not enough squares in the box of plastic shapes to go around. She had some difficulty with the harder shapes (I would have too), but completed the easier ones very quickly. After an hour of this my head was swimming, so thankfully we had our hour lunch break. Being such a nice day we took a short walk outside after eating. Much of physical therapy today was focused on Abby's gait. This included jumping exercises, leg crunches, and brisk walking. She received some good work on her neck as well. We ended the day with occupational therapy, continuing with reading and discussing "Scout the Christmas Dog".

Abby is looking forward to staying home tomorrow. Wish I could be here too...
Abby's Dad