29Jan08 - Stepping In

These days if I want to spend a day with the kids during the week I need some sort of excuse or take holiday which is no different to a lot of people. However this means I hardly ever get to do the everyday things that Dawn has to do, including taking Lucy to all her appointments. Today I had an excuse because Dawn was ill and needed to spend the day in bed, so I cancelled my trip to London to sort out Joshua and Lucy. I actually got an extra hour in bed which was nice. Today was a typical day as far as routine goes. Up at 6:00-6:30 and wake up Joshua and Lucy, get Lucy dressed, brush her teeth and brush her hair (can be the worst job of the whole day). Sometimes the first bit can be quite pleasant but it all depends on what mood Lucy is in when she wakes up. Occasionally I can get her dressed before she even realises that she has woken up. Breakfast is usually a challenge however and it is never advisable to get dressed before this unless you want weetabix all over your clean clothes. Today went pretty well and I actually had time for a shave before we had to leave for school. There was a last minute panic when Joshua remembered that he needed fancy dress for an after school club but apart that everything went smoothly. It was quite nice when I dropped Joshua off at school because when he opened Lucy's door to say good bye, she immediately started making little noises as if she was saying good bye back. She then gave him a great big smile but I was just too late to catch it with the camera.I dropped Lucy off at school at the usual time but only for an hour because I had to take her for an orthotics appointment at the hospital. By the time I returned to pick her up her hands were already covered in paint and she was waiting in her chair with her coat on. Lucy fell asleep while we waited for the appointment, although for a change we didn't have to wait too long. Today's appointment was to take casts of Lucy's legs and feet so that they can make her some new splints as she has outgrown the ones she has. Lucy wears splints to help keep her feet and ankles in the correct position.She has a tendency to extend her legs and point her feet down. If this were to continue uncontrolled there would be little chance of her ever weight bearing in any way. So the idea is to keep her feet flat by using the splints and train her feet to stay in the correct position. In order for the splints to have an affect Lucy has to wear them for 8 hours a day. It will probably be a permanent battle because of Lucy's high muscle tone but we will try anything that might help her in the future. Lucy slept all through the casting which must have felt cold and wet but I wasn't complaining because they did the whole thing with Lucy sitting on my knee.The hardest thing for me was having to choose which pattern to have on the splints. The choice was quite overwhelming, everything from leopard skin to butterflies. I knew that Dawn would be less than pleased if I chose the wrong ones. The safe option would have been to stick with the same ones as last time but that was too easy. The splints will be ready in a couple of weeks, watch this space to see if I made the right choice!!!

For the rest of the day I juggled work and children. Lucy seemed to know that I was trying to work because she wanted more attention than usual. I didn't mind because it is not often that I have her all to myself. In a lot of ways I enjoyed today, especially going to an appointment where I did not just feel like a "hanger-on". I know if Dawn had been there, all the conversation would have been targeted at her whether she wanted it to or not, simply because she is the mother. Today also made me think a lot about having to do this every day. For me it is unusual, a kind of novelty, but for Dawn this has been her life for the last three and a half years. It is nice for me to step in occasionally as it is no effort and I don't really see it as a chore but I know I would if I did it all the time. I guess it is healthy to step into one another's shoes every now and again.