Minimize this

I find myself becoming more and more angry, frustrated and fed up with Cora's therapists. She receives feeding therapy as well as physical therapy for her gross motor issues and has not yet been diagnosed. We see the neurologist this month and it's clear to me that she has a mild hemiplegia. Over the past few weeks, both of her therapists have tried to minimize my concerns in countless ways by pointing out how it isn't a "classic hemiplegia" or that perhaps some of her issues will correct themselves cognitively. That makes no sense at all. Just because she will know she wants to move her body in a certain way doesn't make it possible.

The other night she was trying to chase Lizzie around upstairs in their new game that involves racing in and out of their rooms and up and down the hall. Cora was trying to go as fast as she could to keep up and her left hip just couldn't keep up. She was swinging it out to the side and in my googling tonight it has a name...hip circumduction. I fumed to read that. That is something I had mentioned to her PT this past week and it was minimized. She made no attempt to explain why should would do that.

I struggle at times with minimizing their issues because I know there are worse things we could be dealing with. But we're not. This is my reality every day. It's my job to help them be their best selves and achieve what they can achieve and push against the limits of their current physical abilities. I won't minimize my concerns. I'm going to be that annoying mother who asks too many questions and already knows that answers she is supposed to be getting. I wonder if they wouldn't do better in private physical therapy and not the play approach of early intervention.

I hate looking at pictures and seeing Cora's awkward posture and the way she clasps her fist so tight at times. Just even something as simple as bouncing her on my knee isn't simple to me. She reluctantly holds my hands and her left shoulder is incredibly tense as if she's holding on for dear life on that side. I can't even imagine if that hurts her to have to compensate that way. Something isn't right and this mama isn't going to settle for waiting and wondering.