Celebrating Inchstones: Hippotherapy

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hippotherapy

Asa had his very first hippotherapy appointment this afternoon. Hippotherapy is theraputic horseback riding. Not only will he ride a horse but he will do therapy skills on horseback! I've been told how amazing the horses are for kids and after today I believe it!

I was pretty sure we'd get to the stables and Asa would freak out. We left school and he was a little gaggy so I was nearly positive we were wasting our time. As we began the evaluation and Asa started having a fit (complete with a head bang into my chair), I wanted to just get up and leave. Instead we pushed on. Two young helpers came over with a therapy box and distracted Asa while I talked.

Then it was horse time and magic happened! I watched from the sidelines as they tried to get Asa to touch the horse. He gave him 2 small pats with some resistance. Then they tried to get him to hold onto the saddle and throw his leg over the horse. That wasn't happening but he did let them pick him up and sit him on the horse. Then they were off!

Asa looks pretty good on the ground. He seems to have adapted his poor muscle tone and somehow looks tight and in control. When he got on the horse though all the low tone came right back! He had on a helmet but it wasn't very heavy. Still, he often lost some head control and his head fell backwards. The helpers either helped him get it back up or reminded him to pull it up and he straightened back up again. It was amazing to see him working so hard on skills that he's mastered on the ground. this therapy is really going to work him and help him get stronger!

And sensory wise he was a pro too! He handled the horse and the sounds. I've got a video and in it he waves as the horse comes over near us. He completely did this on his own! Later, not on video, he got upset during a tough therapy task. He let out some sobs but then pulled it back together, wiped his tears, and pushed on! It was sooo amazing! I'm so excited about next week!

One of the big cons with this therapy is the horses and my allergies. I took an allergy pill before we got there and had allergy eye drops ready but is till reacted! I came out sneezing, itching my eyes that were quickly watering and swelling. We wiped our hands with wipes, sanitized and changed clothes as soon as we got home. It'll be worth any sneezing, watery eyes and itching just to watch Asa grow by leaps and bounds in his skills!

Check out this posture in the video. I took the sound off because we were all talking and loud! Shocking, right!?

Also, check out this friend Asa made when we first got to the stables. This dog wanted to play so bad but Asa just isn't that into dogs. In fact, he really doesn't like them at all. When we got home though, Asa waved to Gracie's dog, reached out to rub her back twice and even sat down so he could lean in and give her hugs!! Unheard of, I tell you! Unheard of!

1 comment:

Clara-Leigh said...: We have horses and I have gotten to work with a few special needs kiddos on them....AMAZING MAGIC!!!! Of course my own SN son wants nothing to do with them but about twice per year. Hope you get those allergies under control!! You are a great sport, and Asa is handsome as EVER!!!; March 20, 2013 at 12:43 AM

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Asa's story

Asa is the 4th and youngest in this family. We thought he'd come into this world and our lives would flow right along as it had the other 3 times we brought babies into this world.

We were wrong! After a normal pregnancy and delivery, Asa had to be sent to the NICU because he wasn't sucking, blood sugar dropping, floppy muscles, exaggerated startle reflex and jaundice.

He stayed 5 days were he learned to suck and eat enough to come home. He began nursing well but would scream in pain 30 minutes after each feeding. He had so much mucus and drooled so much. He had a terrible rash on his face. He wasn't making eye contact and was not hitting any milestones.

I kept taking him to the pediatrician but got nowhere until his 2 month checkup when he had only gained one pound since birth. That earned him an appt with a pediatric GI and a change to Neocate formula. Odd gasping spells and eye rolling got him into a pediatric neurologist before the GI appt. The neurologist (he was actually the head of the pediatric neurology dept) personally walked us over to the GI clinic and sat us in an exam room. That kinda makes you worry! That is when we really got the ball rolling. Asa was 3 months old.

At 4 months he was admitted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. He stayed 8 days and had a NG tube inserted so we could feed him directly into his stomach. He kept this for 2 months. Also during this time he had an EEG, CT scan, MRI, upper GI endoscopy with biopsy, flex sig, numerous blood tests, a genetics consult, and an ophthalmology consult and many other pokes and prods! So began our relationship with specialist!!

After 2 months on the NG tube, we removed it and tried to get Asa to eat enough to gain weight. He did OK for a little while but by 9 months old, he was fighting each feeding and not gaining weight despite being on Neocate formula at 30cal/oz. The decision was made to have a G-tube put in. The G-tube is a feeding tube that is inserted directly into Asa's belly. He can eat orally but won't so he gets feed into his belly.

Since he was going to have to be sedated for the surgery, it was agreed he should have a muscle biopsy at the same time. By 9 months he had finally began making eye contact. He smiled some but not very social. He was still very hypotonic (floppy) and didn't even have head control. Something was obviously going on with his muscles. All of his brain scans had been normal.

In Nov. 2008, when Asa was 13 months old, we found out the results of the muscle biopsy. Yes, it took 3+ months to get all of the results! He was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Myopathy. He is deficient in Complex IV for all of you medical junkies out there.

What this means is that his cells can't make enough energy to fuel his body....specifically for him, his muscles and GI system, that we know of. If his body has to burn energy to fight off infection, or a stress, then he looses energy in another system. Mito is a progressive disease with no treatment or cure. We try to keep him as healthy and happy as possible. We use the feeding tube to keep him feed so he doesn't have to struggle there. He takes numerous supplements and vitamins in the hope that they will keep him cells healthier. We check his eyes, hearing, heart, kidneys, liver, brain and lots of blood work yearly. Mito can affect any system so it is important to have baseline and watch for changes. He has a GI, neuro, geneticist, optometrist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, developmental ped, regular ped and a mito specialist.

He gets OT, PT, speech/feeding and a home teacher weekly. He has some sensory issues with touch, sound, taste and texture. This plays into almost all areas of our lives! He is still very hypotonic but gained head control at just over a year (right after we started supplements!). He learned to sit when placed in a sitting position at 18 months. He still can't get into sitting alone. He learned to bottom scoot at just over 2. He does not crawl or walk.

He knows the signs for "moma", "daddy", "more" and "all done". He can show them when prompted but we are still waiting for him to initiate. He waves "bye-bye" and points all the time now. He loves to take a bath and water in general. He has a contagious laugh and can flash the most flirty grin ever!

We learned, with Asa, not take the small things for granted. Each smile, sound, word, bite or even trouble!! You just never know when they might not be so easy to come by or even if you'll have them at all!