Hello ween

Halloween was eventful this year, with the Piedmont Parade, pumpkin carving and tricksters at our door. Zoé didn't stay in her costume for very long...and only wanted to crawl on the street. It is such a difficult time when all she wants is the floor and out of the stroller. We should have brought out her walker and she could then have marched in the parade following the bag-piper. What a shame, next year we'll know what to do.

Zoé has been doing great with the cast so far. We are going to have it taken off this evening and a new one casted on. It won't be very easy as the electric saw makes horrendous noise and Zoé tends to panic thinking that Trish is about to saw off her foot, it is quite impressive and I try to sooth my trooper by putting headsets on her ears to muffle the noise as best I can.

I wrote this a while back and had left it as a draft in my inbox. Well, casting was halted again due to the skin "cracking" underneath. Poor Zoé...she has been through the wringer since birth and yet, she is still upbeat about life and her daily routines.

I am now working on stretching the foot, helping her to maintain it straight, to have it flush against the floor. But Zoé's foot is now in a position she has never known. Since birth she's had this cavus deformity and it is now getting worse. It is a shame for we had gained quite a bit of range and now , as we are waiting for it to heal, we might lose that gain. Zoé takes quite a bit of time to heal, for her blood circulation seems to be compromised. Is it due to her condition? we don't know. The truth of the matter is that we can't do anything until she heals.

Patience...

As for the helmet, this protective shell that she wore for 18 months is now off. We went to measure her head circumferance and she didn't really grow in the last 6 weeks. So I can now go crazy with barettes, clips and headbands...

I can't even imagine Zoé putting it on again. She had it for so long it had become a part of her persona. I couldn't imagine her without it. Now that it's off for good, she has to learn to be more self-aware of her surroundings. I also think that the helmet impacted her vision in some way. When you can't see from the corner of your eye, everything is narrowed, her peripheral vision is altered and I am sure that she feels more at ease in that respect. Speaking of vision, Zoé tends to get rid of her glasses quite a bit...another battle to fight, but a fun one.