Tru’s First Steps

Here You Go!


Tru did well today although he did not totally enjoy the experience.

When we arrived at Dankmeyer today the staff had Tru’s prosthesis ready to go. As soon as I started rolling the liner onto his leg he started giving his sad little cry of “Mommy”. We put the prosthesis on and put him on the ramp for his first attempt at walking. I would have to say he did very well!!

Lisa, Tru’s physical therapist, attended today and was kind enough to work with Tru as he took his first steps. As usual, Tru impressed everyone. He understood what he was supposed to do but he could not figure out exactly how to get his right leg moving.
The knee joint of the prosthesis is locked for now. If he had a functioning knee at this point it would possibly give way when he took a step and make him fall. For now he will learn to walk with a stiff leg. Then, as he becomes accustomed to walking this way, he will transition to a functioning knee. There will be no functioning ankle for now. He is so little (and short) that there is no room to fit in a socket, knee, foot and ankle. As he grows taller he will have a functioning ankle.

The prosthesis had to have one adjustment today because it needed to be shortened slightly. After that adjustment Tru took another test drive. This time I held his hands and as we walked around the room Tru noticed that the door was open. He walked out the door, down the hallway and started making his way toward the exit. When I tried to direct him back to the exam room he got very upset. He was ready to go!

Before we left we were given a bag of supplies we might need as well as some final tips and instructions. I took the prosthesis off of Tru and he instantly said, “All done. Bye-Bye” and tried to hand the prosthesis back to Mark. Then Tru and Mark had a little chat:
Mark - “Don’t you want to bring your new leg home with you?”
Tru – “No.”
Mark - “How about if I put it in your bag?”
Tru – “No.”
Mark – “Do you want me to keep it?”
Tru just stared at him….

So I walked to the car carrying Tru is one arm and his new leg in the other.

Then Tru went to school. He will not be wearing the prosthesis at school quite yet so I drove around with it on the front seat of our van. I’m very proud of it and could not help taking it into my office to show everyone there!

He is definitely going to need some practice. He has physical therapy 2-3 times a week for the next few weeks. We also practiced some more at home tonight. When Tru saw me coming toward him with his new leg he instantly started crying (with real tears). He wanted nothing to do with it. Lin-Ley and I took him outside to kick a ball around. I thought he would really enjoy that but he wanted no part of it.

Back inside I racked my brain to think of what activity he would enjoy. Of course – snacks! I put snacks all over the kitchen and I helped him walk over to each one. He seemed to enjoy that and began to gain more confidence as we went along. Then Lin-Ley started jumping around and Tru started imitating her. He was smiling and enjoying himself. Lin-Ley is going to be a big help!

We will practice and post an update in a few days.