PT update

Well, Ryder's appt went alright today. The therapist said that his neck wasn't as bad as he originally thought it would be when he saw that a 2 month old was coming in for PT. He said it's a really common problem for babies, especially now that "back to sleep" is so big these days. He said this problem never used to be a big deal back in the day because babies slept on their stomachs, which stretched out the sternoclidomastoid muscle (it's the muscle that runs on either side of your trachea that goes from your collar bone to behind your ear) because their heads were turned all the way to the side when they were on their stomachs. Ryder's issue is that his right side neck muscle is shorter and tight, and that same muscle on his left side is weak. This is why when you see some pictures of Ryder, his head is tilted to the side. The therapist said normally people wait until their baby is a little older till they decide it is a big problem, and then they bring them in and it's harder to correct the problem. So I guess I'm glad we're getting him in now. The therapist showed us different stretches and "holds" to put ryder in a few times each day to work on the problem. Besides doing this at home, he will go once a week for a month to the clinic for PT and then after that he will go every other week for a few months. Hopefully this helps.

Before today, I really felt stressed about his neck and working on it and doing the physical therapy. But when we were sitting in the clinic lobby today waiting for Ryder's appt, I realized just how lucky we are that Ryder is healthy. The clinic we are going to is Gillette Children's clinic, and is known for its amazing pediatric work in physical therapy and rehabilitation. There were two kids in the lobby that had major health issues: in wheelchairs, on oxygen, etc. One appeared to cerebal palsy and the other I'm thinking had spina bifida. I actually felt guilty making such a big deal out of something as small as a tight neck muscle with decreased range of motion! Sometimes, it's good to see things like that so you remember to count the blessings in your life. I couldn't imagine having a child with a disease or major disability and having to deal with those kind of stressors. My thoughts are with all those tough moms (and dads!) out there who deal with that daily.