The strength of a child

You might recall, from before all the excitement about Namine getting her own room and the genetics appointment, that Namine has a cough.

It’s been a little over a week, now – I think it’s actually a week and a day as of today – and it still persists. It might actually be a little worse. So Jessica took her to the doctor late this morning, and got an antibiotic prescription. Omnicef is the same stuff as they put Namine on last time she had a cough, so this should hopefully take care of the cough rather quickly.

Yesterday at therapy, Namine refused to work. She would not walk in her walker, not even for her favorite therapist, Mick. (He has a British accent.) So, as a result, I made her walk around the apartment for a half hour last night. Without exaggeration, I have to say that I was absolutely astounded by her strength.

Keep in mind that I do not regularly have the opportunity to accompany Namine to PT. The last time I was able to go, Namine was only being started out with walking, and she had not yet acquired the walker. But when I sat the walker down in front of Namine last night, she reached up and grabbed a hold with both hands, and hoisted herself up into standing position. She repositioned her hands on the correct handholds, and pushed the walker forward, stepping haltingly behind it. I almost forgot to follow her into the next room, I was so amazed.

Of course Namine does still need help with the walker; her left hip still provides much difficulty, and sometimes she has trouble picking that foot off the ground. But considering the fact that neither femur is actually in its hip socket, she does exceedingly well. Toward the end of the half hour, she started to flag a bit, but we expected that. After reading Goodnight Moon and her devotion book, saying our prayers and brushing her teeth, she was more than ready for bed. Last night, Namine put up almost no fuss when I actually tucked her into bed. She was sounds asleep in mere minutes, albeit in a completely different position than I tucked her in. Of course.

I am not even kidding when I say that my daughter amazes me every day. She is talking more, she is enunciating more – her word for giraffe is “rah,” but today she called her stuffed giraffe “juh – rah!” – she is proving her strength in more ways, and faster, than I can convey. She makes me so proud. And she is stoic. I can think of no better word; she rarely complains of pain, and even with this cough she moves where she wants to move. She follows me into the kitchen for medicine, and she now can even give herself medicine in the 10mL syringes. All I have to do is draw the medicine and give her the syringe. She is, without a doubt, truly my miracle girl.

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