Welcome September, Goodbye Miss Kristen

It is with great sadness that we must say 'good-bye' to Miss Kristen. She has been Sumana's physical therapist for four years (I think!). She has accepted a PT position closer to her home. While we wish her well and know it's a good move for her, we'll REALLY miss her!

Miss Kristen has single-handedly challenged Sumana to new heights and achievements we only hoped she MIGHT achieve. When Sumana started working with Kristen she was using a walker. Today, she can walk easily with arm crutches. When Miss Kristen sits behind her on a wheely chair, Sumana can walk with just a little support and NO assistive devices!! When Miss Kristen first worked with Sumana, she could not even raise her head off the table mat. Today, she can do full sit-ups and can use her elbows to sit up.

Here are words straight from Sumana's mouth: "Thank you for working with me, Miss Kristen. You worked with me for a long time. You came to the hospital when I was there, you helped me get stronger after surgery. When I saw you in the hospital, I really wanted to be back at the Happiness House doing work still, but I was glad when I could get back to work with you."

From a mom's perspective, it is just amazing to see how far Sumana has come. Miss Kristen is a classic coach-type . . ."cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater" teasing her and cajoling her into working harder and making each exercise count. She was fantasitc at teaching me what to look for as far as exercising certain muscle groups. Sumana is quite adept at compensating for muscle weakness by using nearby muscles. Kristen helped me see how Sumana would 'cheat' and what I could do to help her work the weaker muscles. It sounds a bit technical, but it really helped Sumana's home exercise program to be more effective. In true Miss Kristen form, she gave Sumana a new exercise sheet before she left the Happiness House.

Please enjoy the pictures. The first four pictures are the oldest (2 years old, I think). Then they go from most recent backwards about a year. (Too bad I'm having trouble reading computer code tonight---otherwise they'd ALL be in chronological order!!!) Thanks, again, Miss Kristen . . . you've made a HUGE difference in Sumana's life.