Summer goes by fast

Wow!! I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. School is just around the corner and I still have some issues to put together. Where does the time go!!!!

That being said we have had very busy weeks in Annika's life so I will probably take a couple of postings to write it all down or it will be too long to read. I am well known to "write a book" in just emails so just sit back and relax.

First of all, Annika went down to Gillette at the end of July for Gait & Motion Analysis. It was really neat to see all of the technology that they use there. We even came home with a CD copy of the video they taped of her walking. That was the nicest part because then Allen could see it since he was not able to attend the session with us.

So for those who are not familiar with this testing I will describe it the best I can. The first thing that they do is have her walk up and down there line and they have two cameras (one from the back/frond and one from the side) taping her as she walks up and down this line. She even is given the chance to "run". After all of that data is done, Annika is weighed and measured. Then it is off to lay down on a table as they do more measurements and test how well her muscles move in every imaginable muscle. This is all done for information and also so they can create the computer image of her. Then we get to hook her up to patches, light sensors and cables. Basically the same technology that was used on Polar Express to create the characters is what we are using. After she is all "hooked up" it is back into the room to do more walking so they can create this computer image of her walking. I did get to see her on the computer and it sure did look like her on the computer. When that is all done, she gets to remove all the equipment and get ready to do the oxygen test. So the best news of this test is that she gets to sit down and rest for 10 minutes while watching a movie so they can test how much oxygen she uses at rest. Then it is up for a 6-7 minute walk. The whole time she has a oxygen mask on that is connected to a machine that tests how much oxygen she is using. Annika was a trooper and did such a great job. For me the worst part is that we have to wait another 2 weeks before we get to hear the results. It will be very interesting to see what recommendations the gait team will come up with.

After we are done with the testing, we head over to Northern Voices for Alumni Day. Annika is back in her element now and her friend, Alec, gets a big hug (much to his dismay!!) when she sees him. We spend the rest of the day just hanging out with the kids, teachers and other parents at Northern Voices. All in all it was a very eventful day and Annika crashed in the car on the way home.