Therapy walker

Megan's PT at school (the only one she is seeing at the moment) asked me how I would feel about Megan using a walker.  I told her that any tool she thought would assist Megan was okay by me.   Yesterday at school the walker was introduced to Megan and after a few minutes of adjusting to it she was off and moving.

The walker looks just like one you would see an elderly person using, except that the crossbar goes behind Megan.  That little change is what makes this work so well for her.  When she tries to sit down she feels the bar behind her and decides to keep going.

At school she walked back and forth across the room a few times, twice after I got there.  Her PT told me I could bring the walker home as long as I brought it back the next day.  I didn't realize that Megan was the only one using it so I didn't bring it home yesterday because Megan doesn't go to school on Wednesdays.  Debi brought the walker to me on her way home this afternoon and we immediately got Megan in it to get moving.

Megan walked back and forth in our entryway to get to me or Debi.  I had her walking a few times after Debi left while I was making dinner and then she walked to daddy when he got home.  When it was time for dinner we had to use the walker to get to her chair and then from her chair to the living room again after dinner.

Megan then used the walker to walk the length of our house - from the coffee table to the oven and back a few times; then the real fun started.  She walked to me at the front door and then back to daddy who was as far away as he could get.  She repeated this so many times I stopped counting at 10 trips and she wasn't sitting down at all.  She would help turn the walker around to go the other way.  One time she left the walker to play at the window and then stepped back to it.  I estimate that she was walking and standing for at least 10 minutes.

We played chase with her like we do when she crawls and she chased me and Will and Sam across the room.  She went to Sam and gave him full embrace hugs and kisses for a long time.  She walked to her kitchen and then stood there and played for the longest time she has ever done.

She is so happy to be standing/upright and be able to look Sam in the face.  She was loving being able to walk where she wanted.  I have no idea how long it will be before she is comfortable leaving the walker for good but she knows she can - she let go and took a couple of steps tonight already.