The Hard Work Begins

Well we've been home now for 10 days and time for a quick update -

We arrived home safe and sound, the flight was long and boring and little sleep had by all but we were greeted with a welcoming at the Greyhound with our family and friends which was lovely and kept us going for the rest of the day until it was time to fall into bed.

No rest for Libby, Judit (her Hungarian Conductor/therapist) arrived on Monday to start the long road ahead of building the muscles that Libby has never used before. Judit's reaction to Libby's new legs was Wow, Wow, WOW and every now and again another WOW!! It was good to see Judit and I felt back in my comfort zone - knowing that Libby was getting the best start to this new beginning. Luckily for me Judit came 4 times last week - Libby was not so pleased! Although she fully understands why she needs to do all this therapy, it's still a bit tough on her and she's very tired - however, as always, she is trying her hardest and by the end of last week Judit had already seen an improvement. I have also seen a great improvement and we are now back to walking with one hand (not as well as pre-op) and I can see she is getting stronger and stronger each day.

Libby's scars are healing nicely, she is getting on well with her new splints and being an absolute star wearing her night splints to bed. I did get confirmation today that Libby is not supposed to be walking bare foot for 6-8 weeks post heel chord/hamstring surgery - I've now stopped saying to her 'Well, you'll just have to get used to it' when she's complain that her heels are hurting whilst walking bare foot to the bathroom -Whoops - I didn't know!

Last week we had a visit from Elle, Sheerena & Thomas (Elle is 13 and had the SDR surgery in May); it was lovely for Libby to talk to Elle and see how well she was doing and also for me to talk to Sheerena and compare experiences. There is also a great network of SDR families on Facebook and its great when you have any doubts or questions, there's always someone that can help.

Today we have seen 'Jolly' Jill, Libby's borough physiotherapist and again, it was great to hear Jill saying 'Wow' and advising which exercises will benefit which muscles and what Jill plans to do. The video clip is supposed to show Libby's progress since 10 days ago but Libby thought it was all about her posing!

All in all, it's great to be home and great to have all the support we could need right now. We know that SDR surgery was most definitely the right decision for Libby and she will fulfil her dream.

There is a very big thank you to David & Fiona for thinking of Libby and bringing this operation to our attention - without them we wouldn't have known that there was a chance out there for Libby.

Obviously, a massive thank you to all of you for your help and support over these last eight months and for making this happen.

xxxx