Ashley's Amtryke

Ashley is learning to love her new Amtryke. She received it on Friday afternoon and even though she woke up with a yucky cold that morning she couldn't help but smile once she figured out that this little trike was FUN to ride. It didn't take her but a few minutes to begin enjoying the feel of her legs moving. When Ms. Sue first walked in with it she instantly began to cry. I'm sure she was thinking, "What now? What else could they possibly have in store for me?"

We made a few adjustments to the seat and then strapped her little feet onto the pedals and off she went. The goal is movement. Getting Ash to move her legs on her own will be our ultimate goal and it has proved to be a major challenge, but we are hopeful that this will do the trick. The Amtryke works at several different levels. For children like Ashley who do not use their legs to pedal the handles serve as the pedals. The child grabs a hold of the handles and "pedals" with them which in turn cause the feet(which are secured onto the pedals) and the legs to go in the continuous bicycling movements. At this point Ash chooses not to use her hands or arms to do the work so Daddy pushes the tryke using the handle, but she is interested in the handles and has learned that if the tryke isn't moving its because the handles aren't. It has been amazing to watch her figure it all out the last couple of days. She will reach out and touch the handles but is not thrilled about making them turn on her own. Ashely's range of motion is very limited, but she is learning and is stretching herself farther and farther every day.

To say that it has been an emotional experience for Dave and I is an understatement. To be the recipient of this little piece of equipment has touched our hearts in many, many ways. We believe this tryke will eventually "wake" up our daughter's mind and that she will someday use her brain to tell her legs to walk. We are hopeful, and we are dedicated to helping her get there. Ashley doesn't realize she is actually in therapy when she is on the tryke. She is having fun and she is exploring the world around while we are out on the tryke. All the while her little legs and their muscles and their mechanoreceptors are working and firing. We will forever be grateful for the dedication of our physical therapist and the Longview Ambucs Too group of volunteers. They are changing our sweet Ashley Kate's life and we are honored to know them.

Ash has a little bug. A cold or something. She is running a low grade fever and is sneezing and snotting all over the place. She is struggling to keep her feeds down because of the drainage so we are watching her fluid status closely. She continues to play and smile never fussing about not feeling that great. I love this little one. She teaches me so much about attitude, perseverance, contentment, and so much more. She could make life miserable, but chooses not to and I am so proud of her. She brings us so much joy and her smile is just precious. We are so blessed to have her.

Here is a little footage of our sweet girl on her new Amtryke. I hope you enjoy it. Again we thank each one of you for your continued presence here and for each prayer you whisper on her behalf. Thank you for loving her so much. God Bless you and goodnight. Trish