About a month ago Jonny and I went out for a walk and ran into some friends who had a little boy who was just learning to ride a bike. The second we got home Brooklyn kept saying that she wanted to ride her bike. It broke my heart to tell her no, or that she couldn't, so we plopped her on her bike, grabbed some blocks of wood so her feet would reach the pedals, and then made the classy decision to duct tape her feet to the blocks, and the blocks to the pedals ( we were laughing hysterically as we duct taped her feet to the pedals.....the things we never thought we would do!). Well it worked for a few minutes until her feet pulled out of the tape, and she was thrilled, but we knew we had to improve it.......
So we bought some vecro and stuck the wood to the pedal, and the shoes to the wood. Though these are special shoes that fit over Brooklyn's braces and her best walkin shoes (and they were a very generous gift from a friend), she would not be able to ride her bike without them, so they remain stuck to her bike!
We initially thought we would just push her around and she would eventually get the idea of how to push her legs, but she surprised us and immediately took off and pedalled all on her own. We were shocked and thrilled. Since she refuses to use her walker for more than two steps anymore, this is great therapy and EXCITING!!! She shows us more every day what she can do.
I LOVE IT!
This is the first time on her bike. If you look closely, you can see about three different kinds of tape, and about four layers of duct tape going across her feet!
This is the first time on her bike. If you look closely, you can see about three different kinds of tape, and about four layers of duct tape going across her feet!
5 comments:
That's great! She is doing better than my 4 year old who still kind ride her tricycle! Yeah for another exciting experience for you Melissa! :)
Brooklyn is such a cute girl. I can't believe she is 3! I thought the velcro idea was ingenious. :)
My name is Ashleigh from UCA in Conway AR. You dont know me, but I am doing a project on HIPPOTHERAPY (I'm an OT major)and ran across your blog. I just HAD to tell you how BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING your little girl is....and I haven't even met her!!!! She is one of the prettiest little girls I have ever seen....seriously. I am so proud of her progress and....proud that she has a mother like you to push and encourage her. You are a strong woman and it makes me happy to see that even a precious child born with a set back can over come it and get better!! (and that is all it is....a set back NOT a disability)I hope that the Lord continues to bless your family...and I hope YOU know just how amazing your little girl is. Kudos to you mom.
Melissa that is amazing! She is so lucky that you guys are willing to do so much for her. Wow! Also I love her 3 year old pictures. Her smile is amazing. Perfect teeth.
Meliss, you weren't supposed to see that post yet, it was still under construction! And hey, don't take it personally, my camera posted us all very large for some reason. I'm not kidding, I had to edit ALL of our legs out of each picture. Stupid camera!
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