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Since Chloe's birth 25 years ago, we have been trying to figure out Chloe's weakness on her left side of her neck and shoulder in hopes she could recover from these weaknesses.
Getting a team together was the first step. Finding a neurologist was the first team member. She saw Chloe every 3 months and we would call with updates at the start. Hearing what we had to say, she may adjust Chloe's medication or make other recommendations. She encouraged me to take pictures of what I was talking about and get better at describing what we saw to help her see what we were seeing. Second member of the team was Molly who worked with Chloe at the YMCA. She has a bachelor degree in Kinesiology (the study of mechanics of movement and her Master's in sports administration was helpful to. The third was her dentist who removed 3 molars and 4 wisdom teeth during this time also!
Chloe had this unexplained weakness on her left side since birth that could of been a genetic malformed nerve bundle that would even cause her to collapse on the floor at the start. We worked with Molly to develope an exercise program to get her shoulder to navigate her arms around and away from her body without trigging headaches and to build endurance. Her Doctor was a big help lessening the intensity of theses headaches through medication.
Sessions would have Chloe sitting on an exercise ball and Molly standing next to her ,she would position the ball in different areas around Chloe.This was to see if Chloe could reach , grab the ball in these areas, then do it several times in a row. We called this ball therapy but the ball was a tool to check out Chloe's shoulders range of motion. We used this technique to see if her shoulders could position the arms where we wanted her to and how many times could she repeat that.
Then about a year and a half ago and since Chloe was an adult, the doctor suggested she try a epilepsy medication that is used for partial seizures and neuropathic pain. This took about a year to find the right dose. We saw a steady improvement with the use of her arms , reduction in headaches , endurance and cognitive ability.
Our last appointment we gave the Doctor a positive report and now Chloe will see her every 6 months.Chloe can now accept schedule changes like everyone else, before she was hysterical about any schedule changes even the smallest changes. She is now able to tell us when her back hurts. Chloe can tell you what happen in the past and what caused plans to change. Her pulse, blood pressure and breathing (asthma) are within normal ranges.
Molly's report summed it up that Chloe's range of motion has improved and she is able to perform most exercises without looking like she is in discomfort,
