Physical Therapy--the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Today was Lily's first physical therapy appointment with the school district therapist.  First, I must say that the therapist is a kind, gentle woman that gave Lily breaks and tried to be as soft and easy as she could.  Today she did some basic stretches and positioning with Lily, and it was grueling.  Lily screamed, kicked her legs, cried, begged with her eyes---it was absolutely miserable.  I could tell that it was overwhelming her, and frankly, this was probably the most angry and upset I've ever seen Lily outside of a hospital.  It really broke all of our hearts knowing that she must do these therapies in order to learn to walk and yet they make her so upset.  I could feel the beads of sweat starting to drip down my forehead as I, too, started to become overwhelmed by how hard this was for Lily. Mind you, the therapist was doing just about everything she could to comfort Lily while still carrying out the physical work.  When it was all finished, I grabbed a big down blanket, turned on a movie, pulled the blinds, and fed Lily a few cookies......sometimes you just need to be cuddled and spoiled--this was one of those times for sure!