Month: February 2017

If there is one thing Jojo does not like, it is tummy time. I’ve mentioned before that Jojo has a pretty chill temperament. That is until she has to do something she doesn’t want to do. When that happens, she is not shy about letting us know she’s not down with whatever we’re making her do. And since she can’t talk, she screams. Loud. And cries. Real tears. It is heartbreaking. It feels like we are torturing her.

This whole dynamic doesn’t help her progress, in fact it is counterproductive. Because when you have low muscle tone, moving your muscles is hard work. Jojo is content to sit and play with her toys all day. Why do hard work when you can scream and cry until someone comes to do the work for you? This personality trait of hers emerged very early. I remember in the first months of working with a physical therapist, Jojo must have been 7 or 8 months old, the PT observed that she slows down and even stops the work of therapy with her protesting.

This puts hubs and me in a bit of a pickle. And when I say pickle, I mean emotionally heart-wrenching dilemma. We must push Jojo to work hard every day to get stronger. When we do, it isn’t pretty. If we don’t push her, she won’t make progress. That can feel like the weight of the world. It is so hard to see her upset and not bail her out.  If entertained sufficiently it goes more smoothly. Tummy time is particularly important as her arms are the weakest part of her body. When we subject her to it, she just rolls right out of it onto her back. So we borrowed this tummy time device from one of Jojo’s PTs. It is pretty great, it spins so she can swivel around and play with different things and it gets her up off the floor so she doesn’t just lay her head down and rest. Some days she is cool with it for a little bit and some days she screams as soon as she sees it. Slowly, over time she is getting stronger and able to last longer. One torture, I mean tummy time session at a time.

My longest and most reliable friend is running. I know it is strange that I think of running as a being. Running is someone who is always there for me without question or hesitation. Someone who always lifts my spirits when I’m down, or helps me work out a problem when I’m stuck. I remember the first time I realized that running was such a good friend. I was 13. I had gotten in a fight with my sister and was so hurt and angry. All these years later I have no idea what that fight was about. What I remember is in that moment, I felt helpless.  So I laced up my running shoes, went out the door (slamming it as a 13 year old will do), and hit the road. After the first step and then another and another, that tight knot of anger loosened, and my feelings and thoughts started to flow. And while I ran, I examined them, made sense of them, and fit them all together into a picture that made sense.

I was lucky to discover such a great friend when I was so young. Running helped me through high school,  I ran cross-country and track. That first week or two of college when everything was strange and unknown, I ran around the beautiful campus at Michigan State University. After I graduated and moved out west, 2000 miles from anyone or anything I knew, I joined a running group and trained for my first marathon. When I first became a mother, and was dealing with postpartum depression and what I thought was the end of my happiness, running saved me. Today, as I’m striving to balance a career, raising two little humans, a healthy marriage – running brings me back to a state of equilibrium when I’m feeling overwhelmed. What would I do without it?

What about Jojo, will she find the same good friend in running, or will she have to do without it? My hopes and thoughts that I send up to the universe is that she will. If not running, then whatever sport her heart desires. First she must walk. We’re working on that every day with her. Jojo just got new purple fabulous orthotics that help her practice stand while supported. They are called AFOs (Anke Foot Orthosis) and are designed to provide a stable base of support for her. In other words, it prevents her from locking her knees (which she loves to do) and holds her muscles in a way that builds strength.

So Jojo will rock these awesome purple braces until she walks and then runs. And both of days will be beautiful whenever they come.