The bad news is Maria continues to have many seizures even with increased medication. The higher dosage is making her sleepy , which is normal at the beginning but should wear off in a few days, but doesn’t seem to be doing much to control the seizures. She’s been sent home from school early twice this week and been given her emergency medicine at least twice.
The good news is she is doing GREAT on the bike. I realized that one problem she has pedaling is where she needs to shift from pushing with one foot to the other. There is a certain point where she doesn’t seem to have the strength or coordination to push it past and she needs a little momentum but usually doesn’t have the speed needed. At first I would push her very slowly and she was able to pedal some and pull away from my hand, then get stuck and I’d catch up and push her past it. However I found a better idea is to put her on a slight downhill path. It’s not enough of a slope for the bike to go on its own but its enough to give her a little help when she hits the stuck point.
She’s been doing better and better but today she was incredible. She pedaled an entire block by herself. Then I turned her around, pushed her back to the start, and she did it again! The first time she got stuck three times and I had to nudge her about an inch to get her going again but the second time she got stuck only once. She was pedaling at a slow walking speed, about 2 mph, but had a steady rhythm. And, I might add, this was when she was doped up on clonazepam.
Maria’s also started to use a button when she eats which allows her to ask for more. At first I’d move the spoon to trick her into pushing it as she reached out, but the last two times I’ve been there she has been using the button pretty deliberately. I think Cathy said Sue has seen the same thing. Very exciting!