And suddenly the first week of rehab was already behind us! The new bedroom, after putting up Belgian celeb Camille posters, was approved. Together with the living group, games were already being played and Ella-Marie is making miraculous progress!
Friendly reception
Pulderbos is known as THE rehabilitation center of Flanders. The building may have endured some heavy storms over several decades, but the people in it are all the friendlier. The living group supervisors had gone out of their way to give Ella-Marie a nice reception. You ask for an example? You get one! On the room door was already a personalized Efteling name tag. The good points were in from the beginning and they just kept coming from all directions!
Combining angelic patience with decisiveness
It must not be easy to work in Pulderbos. Each child has its own
set of problems, and especially here it is clear that everyone is
an individual with his or her own character. So the
physiotherapists, occupational therapists, living group
supervisors, logos and many others must be able to deal with
this.
What stands out is the enormous commitment. Always with a smile,
always looking for Ella-Marie's intrinsic motivation, always
looking for the best way to help her move forward. And it works
extremely well. Ella-Marie is really motivated to participate.
There is a clear agreement: during the work moments you put in 100%
effort, afterwards you can play in the living group or rest in the
room. That rest is really necessary. You see immediately when it
has been enough for her. But there too there is a clear
improvement: she simply indicates that she is tired and asks to
rest. There used to be some arguments about going to sleep: Wout
Van Aert was right when he said "I just don't need anything". We
also heard that phrase very regularly! :-)
Progress
Children who undergo hemispherectomy at a younger age (-6 years) are going to progress faster than Ella-Marie. The brain is still a little more flexible, so it knows how to take over functions faster. But what Ella-Marie can do, she keeps up well, without losing function. Yep, you guessed right. It has everything to do with epilepsy freedom!
Because take out your notebook and get ready for some wonderful
data!
Ella-Marie is
- 28 days seizure free
- Is already taking half as much medication (from the 2nd drug)
- Can push herself up out of bed so she can sit on the edge
- Already puts her left arm on the wheelchair in a reasonably controlled manner
- Is already sleeping through blocks of 6 hours (stopping in between for drinking, shifting or pee break)
We are about 1 month post-surgery and we can only be truly proud of our little girl!
Thanks, thanks and thanks again
We say it often and mean it sincerely: THANK YOU! What toppers you all are. The amount of messages, bills, food and drinks you provide us are incredible! We were even provided a wheelchair by family so we can drive around with Ella-Marie without worry.
The positive feedback on the texts are also nice to hear. We are also going to implement the idea of making a booklet for Ella-Marie, in which all the texts will come and photos will be added. That way she will have the opportunity to revisit everything quietly later!
Happy Easter!
Hopefully some good weather so the eggs can be found in the garden! :-)
