CME Before and After

One of our very most favorite therapies is CME (Cuevas Medek Exercise). I honestly can't remember how or where we heard of it, but once I learned about it, I had to find it. I was fortunate enough to discover that it was being offered at the NAPA Center in Los Angeles. So at the end of Dec. 2011 when Emerson was just shy of her first birthday, we embarked on this new therapy adventure. It was a big undertaking considering NAPA is a one hour drive each way (in good traffic) and Emerson spends most of a car trip in hysterics. But we wanted to give it a go. From the very first session, this therapy showed more promise and gave us more hope than anything else we had tried. It is geared to provoke an automatic motor response, and since it's been tough to find anything to consistently "motivate" Emmy, this was key. The NAPA Center therapists whom we've worked with, Rebecca and Raquel, are also extraordinary. Today, after a particularly good session, I decided to go back in the archives and compare footage from when we first started CME almost a year and half ago to now. Here's what I found. Dec. 30, 2011 June 26, 2013 Jan.13, 2012 June 26, 2013 We started out doing CME once a week for an hour. We now go twice a week for an hour at a time and intersperse "intensives" where we will go every week day for three consecutive weeks. We usually time these intensives immediately after stem cell therapy when it's most important to do intensive therapy and get the most benefit from the stem cells. I really believe that the combination of stem cells and CME is magic and this combo has given us the best results. Emmy's core strength continues to improve. She has gained head control and is getting close to being able to sit up. Her tone has improved and she is now consistently baring weight on her legs, rolling better and even initiating steps here and there. Her ATNR and twisting has decreased. It's pretty amazing really to watch her do the same exercises side by side from when she started until now. Hooray for CME!

What's in a Week

TGIF and the end of another long week. Every day in Emerson's life is a sprint. Link the days and weeks together and every month is a never-ending marathon of therapies, appointments and activities. But the weekends are just a little bit slower paced around here and we look forward to them. Here's a gander into the nonstop therapy schedule of a typical week in Emmy's life. This doesn't include all of her doctor's appointments which include a pediatrician, neurologist, epileptologist, pulmonologist, orthopedist, ophthalmologist, gastroenterologist, urologist, ENT, optometrist, dentist and dietician who all like to see her every three to six months. Keep in mind, this is a two-year-old we're talking about! Monday: 11:45-12:30 - Vision therapy; 3:00-4:00 - Occupational therapy. Tuesday: 9:00-10:00 - Travel to NAPA Center; 10:00-11:00 - Feeding Therapy and VitalStim; 11:00-12:00 - Cuevas Medek Exercise (CME); 12:00-1:00 - Travel home from NAPA Center. Wednesday: 9:00-10:00 - Physical Therapy; 12:00-1:00 - Developmental Therapy; 2:30-3:30 - Hippotherapy. Thursday: 9:00-10:00 - Physical Therapy; 11:30-12:30 - Travel to NAPA Center; 12:30-1:30 - Cuevas Medek Exercise (CME); 1:30-2:30 - Feeding Therapy and VitalStim; 2:30-4:00 - Travel home from NAPA Center. Friday: 9:00-11:30 - CHIME Infant & Toddler Program; 3:30-4:30 - CranioSacral Therapy. Saturday: 12:00-2:00 - Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) . Sunday: OFF. But that's not enough, and each day we're also expected to work on more therapy in our "free time". It's exhausting for her and exhausting for me, but we do it, because we know it's important. Yep, she's a STAR!