Bridget Kelly was born on 10/1/02 and diagnosed with AS 10 weeks later. At the time of diagnosis holding her head up with assistance was the best case scenario per the neurologist. Slowly but surely she continues to amaze us with her various milestones. She started the Early Intervention Program right after her diagnosis which tremendously helped all of us. We continued to hire her OT privately to this day, whom is also one of our best advocates. She began Hippotherapy at age three and continues to ride once a week. Riding every which way on the horse brings her the most joy.
Currently she is 6 years old and a whopping 30 pounds (if she’s lucky.) She loves her sister, Corrine (7) unconditionally (and vice versa). Corrine can make her belly laugh like no one else. She does not speak nor sign and truly communication is one of our biggest struggles. Bridget many times successfully communicates by ablenet switches. For example, she hits the magnetic switch which houses a picture of an object, i.e. drink and voice activates “I’m thirsty,” which has been recorded by Corrine. Her inability to get her point across does cause frustration and bad behavior such as hitting, biting, head banging, etc. Currently she battles constipation daily and I know many times she acts out due to the belly pain.
After a long battle with constipation (trying every remedy under the sun) and her lack of drinking fluids, we’ve decided that a feeding tube will help. She will continue to eat and drink socially but we’ll be able to get a decent amount of nutrition into her tiny body. I hope to have a positive report in the next couple weeks.
Bridget can walk up and down a school hallway but tires quickly. She pulls herself into standing and is on her way. Her feet tend to aim sideways and her ankles seem to be collapsing to the ground, so I think Dafo braces are in her near future.
Bridget loves to page through magazines, play with Elmo, hit push toys, play on the computer with her Comfyland keyboard, follow commands such as “ give hugs” “push the door open, ” “turn off the lights” etc. She actually picked the right colored balls 2 out 3 times last week during hippotherapy. Like any kid she loves a good PB&J anytime!
09-30-2008
