Current Therapies

Recently Ate came home from a trip to Singapore. It was for her second ABR assessment and therapy. I should have a separate entry about ABR and what it is all about.

She had significant improvement in her musculoskeletal development, but more was expected. They were expecting us to log in more hours considering Ate is a very cooperative child compared to other children undergoing the same treatment. Also, considering her fascia isn’t as bad as others. Still we were happy with her improvements.

This is Ate during an ABR session. It's like a massage so she is lying down most of the time.

We informed them of the Bobath approach and that we had tried it on Ate. We saw improvement in Anya using the Bobath approach. I’m sure I have another blog about that somewhere in this site. Every time my parents mentioned Bobath, they just shook their heads in disagreement. It was contrary to their approach and promotes rigidity. It “forces” the child to do certain movements. For some children, it will do them a lot of good – that is if you are lucky. However, in several cases the child will walk but will do so awkwardly and will risk over exerting the muscles that one day the child will just not walk anymore. It happened already to one of their patients.  That's what they said.

Before going to Singapore, Ate was doing a lot of the Bobath exercises. She was also regularly seeing her Cranio-Sacral Therapist CST. Again I have to see if I will have a separate blog on that. ABR nodded to CST since they compliment each other.

It has been several weeks since Ate got back from Singapore and we have been doing a lot of ABR and a lot less of Bobath. The changes we noticed are significant. We realize that we cannot just do one or the other. We have to do both. ABR is very passive and this made Ate quite L.A.Z.Y. We try not to say it in front of her because somehow we know she can “hear” it. We believe the more you call a person that way, the more the person will be inclined to be that way for life.

Our weekly Physical Therapist who was with us during our sessions for the Bobath approach under Pablo Beelen, and who is familiar with ABR told us that we really have to do both. It cannot be just passive therapy and it also cannot be too aggressive and forceful because this may make the child miserable and crying often. We agreed with our therapist. She comes weekly and knows Ate more than ABR therapists in Singapore who see her for 2 days every 4 months. And she knows Ate more than Pablo Beelen who saw her 3 times only and will probably see her only every 6 months for 3-5 sessions each visit in Manila.

And as Ate’s parents, we realize we have to do both. The trick now is time management. And of course budget.

There are also other therapies we want to do but we are limited because of the budget. We spoke with other parents and learn from them what we can try with Ate. One is the HBOT. It is already available here in Manila and many offer it. However, we have to consider the expenses, the logistics and the time spent travelling – which could have been precious time doing the other therapies needed.

This is Ate able to sit unsupported for a few seconds. We were doing a lot of the Bobath approach then. Now she has difficulty so we have to do some more time doing Bobath.

I just gave our helpers and caregivers a pep talk. Reassigned their tasks and gave them targets on how much time they should give for Ate’s therapy. I had forgotten to mention to them though, that they are very privileged to have Ate in their lives. She is an angel so pure and clean. Every time you hold her, you are holding an angel of God. I suppose that is the most important thing to bear in mind when giving Ate therapy. You are teaching her body to get better and improve. Yet at the same time, she is teaching you to be a better person in her own miraculous way.

Pregnant and walking around bazaars

Bazaar Season is in full swing! This is Ate during the Zonta Bazaar in the evening. I know their theme is Christmas Carnivale and every year they have the most colorful bazaar! With a lot of interesting concessionaires of course. We came in the evening so it would be cooler and so Ate could see the lights. There were arts and crafts activities and my good friend G was busy helping kids be creative. Ate enjoyed seeing the lights in that bazaar. Next year, hopefully, she can do some of the activities.

And while I still can, I brave the crowds and do some shopping! Actually, I already did shopping early since I knew I'd have difficulty going around this time of the year. I'm already 8 pounds heavier than when I gave birth to Ate and I'm still growing! Rather, my baby inside is still growing! Getting heavier and heavier each day. It's really just window shopping and seeing new things that make me happy during bazaars. The urge to spend isn't there anymore since I am more budget conscious.

My feet are so swollen. It's a good thing my brother introduced me to compression socks and gave me a pair from his stock. My brother is a triathlete (and I say that proudly). Compression socks help with blood circulation and he wears it after he runs. It somehow helps bring the blood back up instead of remaining down there. Diabetics also use this and doctors recommend it. My feet never swelled with Ate in my womb until the 9th month. In my 7th and 8th month now, my ankles look fat and my feet are chubby! Oh dear!



My brother's compressions socks help relieve swelling even if it isn't the correct size. The leg pain, the leg cramps, varicose veins and edema are also lessened. I tested it by wearing only 1 in my left leg. After a few hours I took it off and compared it to my right leg. Wow! I really saw the difference. I wear them at night if I did a lot of walking during the day. Or I wear it when I am just at home. It doesn't look very attractive. There are compression stockings but I didn't think I needed them so I don't have a pair. Working pregnant moms should invest in those.