I had the day off today, so Jenn asked me to "guest star", both at LJ's therapy and on the blog. We had speech first thing this morning. Mostly, I watched and cheered - LJ did wonderfully. He still isn't eating or drinking, but his oral aversion has been dramatically reduced over recent months. (Largely a result of the diligence of his Mom, his sitter and his therapists). During 40 minutes of therapy, working with a pacifier and various other toys in/around his mouth, he gagged only once, and recovered quite quickly. The speech therapist was very pleased. It was great to see LJ get through a productive session without melting down at the end.
Later in the day, Lew had Hyperbaric O2 Therapy. We were pretty nervous about it, since he'd gotten very worked up in the first two HBOT sessions. Jenn and I were really starting to be concerned that the whole experience might be too traumatic for him at this point. Today, I went into the chamber with him...
Success!! Our Hero was a little fussy at first, but overall, he did quite well. LJ slept for a few minutes, smiled some and even relaxed long enough to fill his diaper. I don't think LJ's relative calm had much to do with me - Jenn did the heavy lifting, getting him used to the situation. Perhaps the third time's a charm - I just hope the trend continues. I will say that HBOT is not for the faint of heart. The chamber is cramped, loud and uncomfortable. Plus, 1.5 hours with very little outside stimulation is a loooong time.
Like you, I hear about most of LJ's therapy second hand. When I do get to participate, it isn't always a pleasure - I know I got lucky today. We've got a long way to go, but it is great to see our boy making progress.
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