HKAFOs and trying new equipment out - with a Video!

A couple weeks ago Mason got new HKAFOs (standing braces) and he has been enjoying them. The fit pretty well and his skin is generally tolerating the braces.

Mason's new glasses are in - with no bifocals! The eye surgery he had in spring has healed up and did improve his eyesight some, so now he just needs glasses, not bifocals. He went back to orange for the frames.

We are still dealing with crazy eczema that won't heal. The doctor has Mason trying a course of antibiotics and antibiotic cream to see if there is some underlying infection but his course of that has pretty much finished with no real improvement. I think the next step may be a steroid injection, but I'm not sure.

Yesterday Mason and I got to go work with one of the Myelo Clinic physical therapists at the hospital to try out new equipment. We have been waiting months on an opening for physical therapy (PT) and are still waiting. We decided that if we could figure out what equipment Mason needs then we can pursue private therapy locally instead of waiting for Children's Hospital. They were talking about everything from a gait trainer (very supportive, lots of potential attachments, but also thousands of dollars) to a reverse walker (minimal support, potentially much less expensive). They anticipated several appointments trying equipment to see what Mason would need and would be willing to use.

Well, I'll let the video show you the result.



Yes, that is his first attempt with a walker. He did great and it was obvious that he doesn't need a gait trainer. He liked walking. It's a great cardio workout for Mason, works his arms, shoulders, core, and applies pressure to his leg bones to help strengthen them and combat the osteoporisis, all important. Now we pursue insurance approval for a walker, which can be a long process. We have a family about an hour away who has a similar walker available for Mason, so we'll pick it up this weekend and use it while we wait for insurance to approve a walker for Mason and for the order process to happen. Then we'll pass the one we're borrowing on to another family who needs it.

We are also working to get Mason into PT locally with the physical therapist he's worked with in the past.