In response to the video of Oksana walking I was asked this question by Sylvia:
She still seems very stiff; do they expect her to have a normal gait at some point (once she gets more practice, PT, etc.) or is she always expected to be a little off in this regard and/or require the aid of a walker/crutches/etc.?This is a question I had myself and I'm sure other people have after seeing that video so I want to go ahead and address it. Here is what her PT told me. Oksana obviously will never look like us when she walks but her gait will improve greatly with time. One thing you may notice is that she swings her arms while she walks. It looks kind of like she's swimming! She is doing this to compensate for weak glute muscles and that will all but disappear with time. Also, her left leg is weaker than her right leg. When we hold her hand to walk we always hold her left hand so she has extra stability on that side. You can see it if you look closely because she kind of swings her left leg and pulls it around more than taking an actual step on it. Again, that leg will get stronger and stronger with time and that will improve her gait.
So as far as walkers and crutches I've been told that Oksana will get strong enough to be able to walk without using any of those devices in time. Right now she refuses her walker and her PT isn't even going to bother starting her on crutches. We are using the walker or a stroller only for very long distances or for walking long periods of time. She does wear out after time although you can't try telling her that :). Again, strength is the key here.
Thanks for the question!
