OH C.I.T! (Constraint Induced Therapy) Day 1 and Day 2

Day Before the Cast....

I have thought about several different scenarios that would move Olivia into a new category, one that did not involve the words "developmental delay".  I have thought about what her life would be like if she was not born with damage to the left side of her brain.  And I sometimes think about how nice it would be to not have to constantly think about how Olivia is holding something in her hand, if we spent enough time on an activity or if she will remember the blood-curdling cries that rang out from her mouth when being forced to do a movement that she could not understand would help her in the long run.  

And sometimes, I even think about how unfair all of this is and why she has to go through this, while others are on a different path from her own.  Each thought, scenario and situation always result in two conclusions:  1.  Life just isn't fair. and 2.  Everyone has their own demons to battle and their own "delays" to face each day, not just Olivia, which again, leads me to conclusion #1, Life just isn't fair..  But, since I cannot fix the problems of the world or the damage to Olivia's brain, I am forced to carry on and move on to the next best thing, which is helping Olivia overcome her movement delays through new scenarios that will enable her to beat her battle with cerebral palsy.

On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, Olivia began a new journey in her therapy.  Constraint Induced Therapy (CIT) is a movement therapy that restricts the movement of the dominant hand (left hand) to force the brain to chose the next best option for movement, which would be Olivia's non-dominant hand (right hand).  The cast is on for four weeks, with therapy sessions three times a week for one hour.  Essentially, what this means is that the therapist puts Olivia's left hand in a cast, including her fingers, so that her brain is forced to send a message to her right hand to perform the function as the left hand is unable to do so.

I am sure you are thinking that most people have a dominant hand to perform most everything, from holding a fork/eating, to writing, to high-fiving.  But if you think about each of these acts in further detail, you will realize that when you eat, sometimes you use both hands, for example, you need one hand to hold the bag of popcorn, and the other to remove the popcorn from the bag.  Likewise, when you are writing you actually need to use one hand to hold the paper and the other hand to actually write.  And well, I guess high-fiving, you don't need two hands, unless you high five like my husband and his cousin during Steelers games.

On Tuesday we went to Kluge to cast Olivia's hand and begin the entire CIT process.  We begin with another evaluation as it had been a few months since our last one.  Once the therapist had all the information we needed, we decided to dive into the "hard part", which is placing a cast on a 14 month old baby.  As I held Olivia in my lap, the two therapists swarmed about preparing all the necessary items needed to ensure this attempt at a cast only took just one try.  As they began the process, Olivia instantly began to cry as the therapists required her arm to be still and remain at a 90 degree angle, a tough task for such a small child, or any child or adult for that matter.  After what seemed like eternity and a million tears and screams later, they had completed the cast and I was able to go back to just being Olivia's Mom for a few minutes while they worked on the finishing touches.

Casting Process Before...

Olivia After Casting Process...

When the cast was complete they secured it into place enclosing her arm from just above her elbow to the very tips of her fingers.  I was bracing myself for a major meltdown from Olivia.  I personally cannot imagine having a cast on my arm, let alone being only 14 months old and not being able to use my dominant hand to perform tasks I had grown accustomed to doing such as feeding myself.  However, it seemed that the worst of the tears were over and Olivia was back to her happy-go-lucky self, as her smile quickly returned to her face.  She peered up at me as if to say, "is it over?"  I wish nothing more than to be able to tell her this hardship was all over.

Leaving to go home, Day 1

Instead we carry on, or I should say, Olivia carries on.  We are onto day 2 and she is already starting to feed herself with her right hand with a little assistance, thanks to the amazing reinforcement and effort from our day care team.  We have had a few bumps in the road, like when she can't get her pacifier into her mouth at night, but with a little help from Mom and Dad, we are back to the normal Olivia we have grown to love and adore.

Loving the swing, Day 2 *using right hand to hold on!*

I have to be honest, I have learned so much from my teeny daughter in the past two days.  She has been given quite the curve ball in not being able to use her dominant hand.  Many people would not take this type of obstacle in stride.  Yet, there she is, laughing, playing, smiling.  She seems to be showing us all that while life isn't fair, life is what we make of it.  And Olivia has decided to make the best of this challenge and of what God has given her.  And I know there may be a few more bumps in the C.I.T. road, but for now, we are going to hope for the best and pray that this new scenario provides the results we envisioned for our sweet Olivia.