Lately, I really feel myself becoming "one" with the whole 'hippie' mentality I've laughed at over the many years I've spent in Oregon. Today, upon arriving early to the gym for my tri-weekly class I live for, I had Andi use her walker to 'walk' herself into the gym. Destination walking seems to motivate her. My plan initially was to have her use her walker to get in and out of the library to pick up a few Signing Time DVD's I have on hold. I should have known that something was amiss when I pulled up to the block and every spot on the block was available. I pulled in regardless, hopped out to get her walker out of the back, and saw the sign indicating library hours. Duh, they're closed. So, we used her walker on the sidewalk to the gym. It's an opportunity, and one the weather allowed. So, Andi walked into the gym today. Once through the door, she was greeted with her usual chorus of "Andi!" Sometimes I wonder if they know my name, but they all know Andi. Andi got even more attention using her walker. One man was sitting in a chair by the door. He was well over 300, maybe even 400 pounds (I have no idea), but he commented on how cool her wheels were and said that he might be using one of those devices soon. I just kind of nodded and concentrated on Andi, like I tend to do. But once I got her settled, I was more dumbfounded and fired-up about what that man said. Here's a man with what I ASSUME is a healthy body, just an unhealthy life. But anyway, that's not for me to judge. Hopefully seeing a kid struggle to walk will inspire others to get healthy, be well, and appreciate their health.
I've been making Andi walk with her walker as much as possible. She gets a lot of attention and praise, which only eggs her onward. The more she does it, the stronger she'll get, and hopefully soon it will enable her to stand on her own.
We had one of the other pediatrician's look at her left (unaided) ear, as when they looked at her ear on Friday - when she got her new hearing aid, they said that ear was "VERY red". Our usual Dr. is on rotation at the hospital this week, so we saw someone else we've seen a few times when we lived up at the hospital. This guy is really nice, and did well with Andi. He said the ear looked okay, but that the ear tube is just sitting there and should probably be pulled out by an ENT. He gave it one try to get it out, and couldn't. So, we are going back again on Friday to have an ENT remove it. So, that's $20. today, $20. Thursday for PT, $20. Friday, plus I paid $30. for our minimum payment on our balance. YIKES! That's an expensive week. Luckily, weeks like these are fewer now, but they still slash a big hole in my wallet. It could be worse.... I'll just leave it at that! :)
So, Miss Andi is charging forward hopefully promoting health and well-being to all she encounters. She certainly does catch the eyes of many, and is a rather big flirt. She also has GAINED weight! She weighed in today at 23 lbs, 5 oz's... so we're FINALLY out of the 22 lb, where we seemed stuck for SO long! YEA!
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