Joel has quite a bit of mobility with his arms, especially
his right arm. He is able to grasp some
objects on his own with his right hand.
Joel has also worked out how to communicate when he wants a kiss: he
makes a kissing sound with his top lip and lower teeth—he’s such a flirt! Every time he sees me and while I’m working
with him, he continuously makes kissing noises, and I oblige every time or a
make a bit “mwah” in his direction if I can’t reach his hand or head during a
stretch. When I do kiss him, his eyes
roll back and he cracks up laughing.
Joel likes to chew on things near his mouth (hands, toys, kids, etc.),
so we have to keep the babies away from his head during nap time, and I have to
be careful how I carry him so he doesn’t bit me either. Most of the time, his hands receive the brunt
of the chewing. His forefinger to his
thumb is calloused on both hands from the constant gnawing. Joel’s favorite part of stretches is bouncing
on the exercise ball at the end. He
giggles and smiles, and it’s terribly contagious—I can’t help but laugh along
with him. Something so simple and I take
for granted brings so much pleasure to this boy.
In many ways, Anton (short for Anthony) is similar—especially
about the exercise ball. His smile is as
genuine as his cry of pain. Anton’s
muscles are extremely tight, and his spine is turned to his right just above
the hips, causing his legs to bend and curve in that direction. When he first arrived at InStep, his hands
were in such tight fists that his nails were growing into his palms, and the
skin was almost rotting because of the lack of air and cleaning. Thanks to visiting physical therapists and
the continuing work of Hoglah (one of the Social Workers at InStep), Anton’s
hands are stretched and cleaned daily, and they are much looser. Due to recent injections for sickness, Anton
has been tighter than normal, especially in his right leg. Just touching his leg makes him cringe and
cry out in pain. Trying to stretch and
do exercises with him has been more difficult than the other two boys, but he
is starting to loosen up a bit.
Because Hoglah will be gone for three months to stay with
another kid in the hospital, she has been teaching me how to work with the boys
individually so I can continue working with them while she’s gone. I struggle with how far to push them because
of lack of training, and my heart aches when they cry out in pain, but I know
that to leave them without these exercises will damage them more in the
long-run. What their little bodies want
to do on their own is destructive not only physically, but mentally and
emotionally as well.
Similarly, what my own sinful nature wants to do on its own
is ravage and destroy my soul. Without
God’s stretching my spirit daily, I will stiffen and waste away. I know that God’s heart also aches when I cry
out in pain, but He knows what is best for me.
Working with these boys has brought such a calm and joy to
my own spirit—I am so grateful to be able to work with them. Often all three boys just crack up at the
something unseen, and I like to think that God and His angels are speaking to
them and telling them funny jokes and how much the Father loves and enjoys
them.
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