Just a quick update on Mr. Peter Bear's PT appointment up in Denver....WOW!! It was amazing!! Of course all hell broke loose at work, I was running late, picked up Kerry (our therapist) in Gleneagle and raced up to Denver. By the grace of God we got there barely on time. Patricia Winders was in the waiting area looking out for us. A small slender woman with a warm smile and a true sparkle in her eye. I had so much invested in this appointment that I would have been devastated if she was unpleasant or didn't like me. Well, she was so much more than I could ever have hoped for. She is a truly compassionate person who enjoys the kids and what she does. She was on the floor with Peter just playing and observing. She shared what she saw, her thoughts and what we should work on. My son of course was PERFECT!! Oh my goodness. The difference between being on the carpet and being on a pad was amazing. Peter pivoted and stretched, used his legs and his arms, he played with toys, knocked over blocks, sat and stood and talked and smiled. He had a GREAT time!! She said he was between mild to moderate on low muscle tone which explains why he is so active. She said he is definitely "motor driven" - which means he is inclined to move around to explore vs. being more still and observing. What she was thrilled about was that Peter demonstrated a high degree of being "purpose driven" - so he knows what he wants and will figure out the best way to get it. I expected to be there an hour but we were there for two. She taught Peter how to army crawl and gave us a short list of skills to work on. Overall Peter is close or on track with some gross motor skills compared to average for kids with DS, and well ahead on other skills.....YEAH PETER!! I was so proud of him!! Kerry is going to help us master some of the movements we need to do with Peter, and I am hoping to pick up a mat this weekend that we can have Peter play on. All in all it was truly amazing - it was an incredible learning experience and I was on cloud nine the rest of the day. And this is the truly wonderful news - they are developing a Down Syndrome Center at Children's Hospital - so medical, PT, OT, etc. A true center that will be dedicated to understanding and meeting the needs of our amazing little kids. WOW!!!!!! I think Peter too was excited about the whole day, so he came home with a healthy apetite and desire to keep moving forward. In the spirit of trying something new he actually worked on table food last night. While he really won't yet grab food and put in his mouth - I fed him some sweet peas of my dinner plate and he gummed them and swallowed them. That is such a long way from the kid who wouldn't eat and almost needed a feeding tube. What a miracle!! He is still eating his solids well, and the last couple of days has started drinking well again - so that has been a huge stress reliever. Anyway - busy weekend in store so I better run get ready - but I wanted to share what an amazing day it was yesterday. And I hope you had a chance to see the new pictures of Peter....such a cutie!! Wishing you all well! catherine
