Last night was another physical therapy session. The report I had for Mike when we got home was, "She did awesome and she was a total brat."
We started with the underwater treadmill. Up until now a therapist has always been in the tank with Luna to help her move her feet, walk straight, and remain standing. Last night we threw her in the tank by herself. She did outstanding! The therapist commented on how nicely she was placing her feet and that her stamina had definitely improved. In fact, she walked for a total of 20 minutes with only one short break. A couple of times she became distracted and stopped walking. It was very funny to see her space out and then suddenly leap forward when her butt hit the back of the tank. We would laugh and say, "Pay attention, Luna! Watch where you're going."
After the treadmill we put her on the peanut yoga ball for some balancing exercises. For me, this is the most stressful part of her physical therapy sessions. In order for her to strengthen her muscles, she needs to balance on her own. I have a hard time letting her go because I am so afraid she will fall. Despite my constant worrying, she did very well and was eventually able to stand, sit, and lie down on the ball. She still has a lot more practice ahead of her and it would help if her mom didn't hover so much. (Can you hear my helicopter blades?)
Now that Luna was completely exhausted, the therapist moved on to some stretches we can do with Luna in a "sit". Yeah, right. She was not interested in performing. "She knows how to sit," I kept insisting. "She does it all the time at home. Come on, Luna. Sit." Eventually, the fed up therapist handed her over to me in the hopes that she would sit for me. Nope. I only got a couple of sits out of her and the whole time she was giving me a look that said, "Just give me the cheese." Thanks for making me a liar. We gave up and called over the resident black lab. He was more than eager to sit for the cheese and let us do the stretches. At least this way I could see what Luna and I were supposed to do at home.
After her laser therapy, we headed home where Mike greeted Luna with some cuddling on the spare bed. You can tell that she was feeling pretty relaxed.
4 comments:
That's a hound for you! I am convinced that they secretly delight in proving you wrong in public. And the more you want them to do it, the more determined they are NOT to! lol
She sure is comning along well.
Song hates sitting and only does it very rarely.
If you would like to painlessly work on her balance take her for a car ride, but have her stand. It's great for working the balance.
Wow .. she is doing well!!! Good girl, Luna!
Just thinking aloud, but wouldn't it be better to do the balancing before she's worn herself out walking for 20 minutes in the tank? Just thinking that she has a very long physical session there, but I'm sure the therapist knows what she's capable of.
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