Scott, her technician, said that her braces seem to be working well for her and he gave me a couple suggestions on how to continue to get the most out of these braces for her.
Scott was watching Ella stand at a chair with the braces on (with my support) and he had a curious look on his face. He asked me if she could move her legs in a "walking" motion if I hold her up. I said she could, but she needs a lot of support. He then said he wanted to get something and that he'd be right back.
When Scott returned, he had this strange contraption-brace-type-thing in his arms, which he called an RGO (reciprocating gait orthosis). Basically, a person's legs are strapped in and it goes up their back for support. Once they're in, the idea is that they lean on one side, which causes the opposite leg to move forward. Then they lean to the other side, causing the other leg to move forward. That is, walking.
We tried it on Ella (it was quite the challenge to get her in it!) and stood her up. With all of this support she was able to stand on her own in the middle of the room!
We then took Ella out into the hall and I crouched behind her to help her lean from side to side, making her feet "walk" (she isn't strong enough to lean by herself at this point).
Scott is letting us keep the RGO for a while to see how we like it. We definitely know Ella likes to walk!
