Hope

Finally after 7 months with no movement in the muscle at the front of Emily's left leg we have life. As I sat watching Kelly our PT touch Emily's leg I could see something was wrong. Her face was deep in concentration as she moved Emily's foot up and down. Finally she looked up and said "I think I felt a twinge". I sat frozen to my seat as she asked Emily to try to move her foot. For 7 months Emily's leg has been paralyzed from the knee down. Foot drop set in quickly after the injury and Emily became unable to use that muscle at all, her leg withered and became vastly different from the other one. There it was, movement. At first a twitch and then a small movement to the left. Both Kelly and I jumped! Emily was asked to keep her foot in the position that Kelly put it in and hold it there. Where previously there was nothing now we have a small level of control that we can build on. It stayed, it moved and we cried! The moment we've been waiting for is here, the muscle works.

This is HUGE. This is the difference between being able bodied and being disabled for the rest of her life. Eventually with work Emily WILL be able to walk without her brace. Yes, her RSD will always be there and she'll have to deal with the pain but she'll be able to walk and wear the shoes that make her feel good and not huge clunky AFO ones. She may have a limp and I'm sure that leg will always be smaller/weaker but who cares, she has a small amount of function and we'll take what we can get! RSD wise Emily's pain increased this week just because of the different muscles being used but this hasn't stopped her one bit.

We celebrated with a meal at her favorite restaurant, Bostons and we bought her roses! She's practiced a lot and when Kelly comes tomorrow she'll be shocked how much mobility Emily has regained in her foot. Brute force and determination have kept Emily going and I think for the first time we have hope. Everything's been so bleak for us and this is a twinkle in dark place.

For those who send us positive thoughts and prayers, thank you from the bottom of my heart :)