2014 is in like a Lion!

Wow, it has been a hectic year already!  It started with a minor fender bender (with the kids in the car). Luckily everyone was ok and the woman who pulled out in front of me had insurance.  The bad news is that it took FOREVER to get insurance to get an estimate and the snow is delaying the parts being delivered.  Some day I'll be able to get it fixed.

We also had our follow up appointment with the physiatrist, Dr. Morozova.  She was disappointed to see the increased tone (since the Botox wore off) but agreed that we should hold off on another Botox treatment to ensure we can participate in the UVA constraint research program over the summer.  We have an appointment in February to setup another evaluation and have her entered into the study (you may remember she was rejected because she had received Botox treatments within 6 months of the study intake).  Dr. Morozova has also recommended we have Reagan fitted for a new wrist brace.  Unfortunately this means a trip to DC to be custom fitted, but we were able to get an appointment in February.  She also reinforced the importance of continuing to stretch her wrist/arm to try to loosen it and increase flexibility.  She also agreed we should move forward trying to get the Bioness leg brace approved by insurance given it may take over a year to get the initial denial and go through the Medical Review Board on the appeals process (it's a $5,000 brace).  I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that!!

We also had a follow-up with the technician at Orthotic Solutions to revisit Reagan's leg brace.  Reagan's PT was still concerned about the fit and we're both glad we took the time for the visit.  The technician made several modifications to include remolding the angle of the upper plastic area.  Reagan was hyperextending her knee while she was walking and this minor modification really helped give her a smoother gate.

From a FUN standpoint Reagan and I had a fun trip to the American Girl doll store for lunch for the first time with her friend Emma (and her mom Amanda).  So cute to see Reagan showing an interest in dolls!

We also took Reagan and Cole skiing to Wintergreen Resort.  As you may remember, we took Reagan last year and she loved it!  We scheduled lessons for the kids with Wintergreen Adaptive Sports and the instructors impressed us again this year.  Cole struggles keeping on gloves so we were a little worried he wouldn't last, but he did great!  Both kids skied for over two hours even on a bitterly cold day.  Not only did they have fun, they want to go back!  The instructor Cole had was one of Reagan's instructors last year.  We had no idea he has a background in supporting skiing for the blind.  He was in Breckenridge in December supporting a blind slalom skiing competition where he follows a blind skier and provides visual cues as they go down the mountain.  Wow - talk about trusting someone!