15Nov07 – Advance Clinic 6 Day 4

Lucy had not really improved much over night and her cough had become worse. She was also wheezing a little which is cause for concern. However she did manage to eat her breakfast so at least her appetite is still there. We were considered taking her back to the doctor in East Grinstead again but decided in the end that the best thing to do would be just to get her home so that if she does need any further treatment we will be in the right place. She certainly wasn’t bad enough to think about taking her back to hospital but you never know how things will progress and the last thing we want is to be stuck away from home with Lucy in hospital. I had to go into London this afternoon for work so we decided to pack up and go after Lucy’s supper. When we got to the Advance Clinic and explained what we were going to do they suggested doing an extra therapy session in the afternoon to cover what we would have done on Friday which seemed like a good idea. We both did the morning session after which Dawn dropped me off at Gatwick to get a train into London and then she went back to the clinic for the afternoon.
Today was all about making sure we knew the exercises, so this morning we repeated them over and over on each other to make them stick. I also took photographs of all the positions as a reference for when we are back at home and these are just a few of them.


We were able to do this with Lucy because she was fast asleep and the therapist was the hand model for all the positions. We have been practising on adult bodies and it was important to see the same positions on Lucy’s tiny little body. In the afternoon they made a video of the exercises with commentary to explain each step. We should have enough backup now to see us through to the next session which will hopefully be in February. The next time we come they will photograph Lucy and compare these with previous photos to see what developments and changes there may have been to her structure and posture. These changes happen very gradually and are sometimes only slight but it is always surprising to see what affect the exercises have. It makes all the hard work worthwhile to know that what we are doing is making a difference.
When I got back Dawn had already packed all our stuff and was giving Lucy her supper. Mary and Rachel had a last cuddle with Lucy before we bundled her in the car and headed back round the M25 and up the M1.I am writing this from the car somewhere on the M25 hoping to be home before midnight, listening to Lucy complaining in the back and waiting for my turn to drive. It has not been a typical week at the Advance Clinic but we have got what we came for, really enjoyed staying with Mary and Rachel and as soon as Lucy is back to herself we can start putting in to practice what we have learnt.