Our growing girl

Have you ever heard of Wolff’s Law? I hadn’t, not until the day before yesterday. My wife and I were looking at pictures of Namine from over the past year with my aunt up at her house. We noted that Namine has, contrary to doctors’ predictions (sounds familiar, right?), been growing quite a bit. We…

Have you ever heard of Wolff’s Law? I hadn’t, not until the day before yesterday. My wife and I were looking at pictures of Namine from over the past year with my aunt up at her house. We noted that Namine has, contrary to doctors’ predictions (sounds familiar, right?), been growing quite a bit. We suspect she’s hit something of a growth spurt lately, and my aunt said that made sense. She mentioned Wolff’s Law, which I had never heard of. I looked it up:

Wolff’s law is a theory developed by the German anatomist and surgeon Julius Wolff in the 19th century that states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.

Standing up, Namine used to come up to a little above my knees. But yesterday I was walking her on my feet (just like my dad used to do with me), and her head came up to my waist. I could hardly believe it.

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This picture is from less than a year ago. Namine’s old walker was front-facing, and it really wasn’t doing her back any favors. So we switched to a rear-facing gait trainer.

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The gait trainer wasn’t as tall as her old walker, so she had to get used to not being able to lean on her arms. Fast forward to a year later – now – and Namine is strong enough to walk upright for twenty minutes on the treadmill. The theory – which makes sense to me, but remember, I’m not a doctor – is that as Namine has continued therapy, the stress her legs have endured has not only made them stronger, but also prompted growth. What we’re seeing seems to substantiate this.

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