Meet Edith: Patient Success Story

Edith was diagnosed as a “floppy baby” at birth, but little did her medical team and family know, she should have been diagnosed as an “ornery baby”! And while she was slow to get moving due to her “floppiness”, that “orneriness” proved to be helpful as Edith fought to gain mobility skills. She has six older brothers, so her mom knew that she was not hitting her gross motor milestones from an early age, like rolling and sitting, on time. Being a parenting pro, Edith’s mom sought therapy services to help Edith achieve her mobility skills, and her PT, Jessica, was up for the challenge!

One of the benefits of home health is full family involvement in the child’s natural environment, which leads to the most progress, and physical therapy sessions in Edith’s household were a family-wide event that not only included Edith and Jessica, but mom and all six big brothers. They were always excited when Jessica assigned PT homework, such as who could get Edith to sit the longest, give a high-five, or keep her motivated in her gait trainer and loved reporting their progress to Jessica via a video or showing her in-person at her next visit.

Messy hair, don’t care because I’m learning to crawl!     

Her PT learned quickly the best way to get Edith to participate during therapy was to allow the session to be child-led (there’s that orneriness!) while providing skilled intervention to support novel gross motor tasks. Jessica and her mom provided tools to promote goal attainment, such as elbow splints while crawling for support and a mobile on her gait trainer for motivation as well as interactive toys, a specialized swing, trampoline, wedges, and bolsters. That, along with adherence to their home exercise program and the cheerleading support from her family has led to significant progress, including sitting, transitioning between positions, crawling, pulling to stand and cruising at furniture, and walking in her gait trainer. With Jessica’s skilled guidance, Edith’s family is confident in supporting her in gaining gross motor skills and independence with her daily routines.