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She looks good, doesn't she?
Upright, feeling gravity but not succumbing to it, using muscles that have not long been used, standing.
She delighted in the prospect of standing and her face lit up when Lindsay placed her knee immobilizers in their respective places. We put her shoes on without her AFO's (Ankle-Foot-Orthotics) and let her have at it.
I snapped several pictures, each showing a slightly different angle and facial expression...this one captures her in a moment that she is more focused on her play than her standing...a feeling we want her to continue to have---just like you and I have. When we're engaged in something while standing, we really aren't thinking about standing...we're focused on our task. We want that for Ella.
Movement was the next logical "step" so we put on her AFO's and brought her to the dining room. While walking demands more from the body and gravity will delight in pulling one down during the task, we were right there with her.
She knows exactly what to do. It's amazing and quite encouraging. The motion of her legs is all her. Lindsay simply keeps her from falling...Lindsay takes care of gravity for her. Take that gravity!
The expression you'll find on Ella's face is one that we, as her parents, recognize as her expression of complete joy and pride, excitement and satisfaction. She wanted more. More vertical time, more walking time. We have to be careful not to wear her out since we know that's dangerous for her. We have to be careful how long we assist her as her dependence on us becomes more intense as gravity continues to grab for her...we don't want to injure her in the name of holding her up...it's a delicate balance between the experience her mind, body, and soul gains from this vertical time and the caution we must consider.
For now, however, enjoy a bit of walking time with Ella~~
