On May 4, we picked up Isabella's very first prosthesis. It is custom made just for her little arm, and it should last her about another 6 to 8 months or so. It is a passive prosthesis, meaning that it does not open and close volunatarily, but it can be opened to hold a toy. So far, she likes it sometimes and not others. She treats it as if it were any toy -- enjoying mouthing it and banging it around and then taking it off and tossing it aside. I am supposed to put it back on her whenever she takes it off, but the reapplication is the part that she resists the most, so I'm not super consistent about it. Bella is to wear the prosthesis when she is awake, so she learns to utilize it and grows accustomed to thinking of it as a tool.I am currently freaking out, because I can't find the thing. She threw it off at church, I tried to put it back on, she fought me, I put it down, and I think I left it there. This thing is going to drive me insane. As if I don't have enough to remember, now I have to worry about keeping track of a very expensive, custom made piece of equipment that my baby throws to and fro whenever and wherever we go. *UPDATE* Found the prosthesis in the crib! Yea!
I digress. Anyway, if she uses this prosthesis, she will get to move onto her first myoelectric prosthesis probably by the time she reaches 15 months old. That, to me, is just amazing. The myoelectric one will open and close voluntarily when she contracts and relaxes her arm muscles. So, that is my goal: for Isabella to be able to have the option of using a prosthesis that she operates on her own. Go Bella!
2 comments:
You might get one of those things that works like a cordless phone pager, with an adhesive part that sticks to the easily lost item and a central contraption to "page" the item. At least if it's lost in the house you can find it!
How awesome is that. It looks great. Give it time, just like anything else kids have to get use to, she will get use to it too.
She is just so beautiful!
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