In their own time… whenever that may be

Cathal has never been a crawler, rather a bum-shuffler. He has developed his own very accurate and very fast style in this form of locomotion. Walking has not been that easy for him. Low muscle tones and weak ligaments in his ankles and knees have meant that standing and then walking were difficult for him. In the beginning his little legs simply could not position themselves well enough to carry his weight, and then they could not carry his weight with enough stability to enable him to walk on his own. Confidence to try and launch yourself unaided comes only if stability is there to some degree. Until now it has not been there for Cathal.

But it has not been for lack of trying. Remember this video taken around Christmas last, when Cathal was about 2 and a half months short of his third birthday? It was then such fun trying out this Walking Business.




A couple of weeks ago, after months of practising, and at the great age of 3 years and 6 & half months, encouraged by the Dad, Cathal very bravely took his first steps unaided. And it was all captured by the Mammy:

I am very VERY proud of him. It has been a long and difficult road for him to get there. Since then, as a matter of routine, he still much prefers to bum-shuffle his way around than to walk. But every so often, if in the right frame of mind, and coaxed properly, he may take off for a few steps. All in all, a major milestone for Cathal.


On the other side, Oisín seems to be a great student of his big brother. He may be only barely 7 months old, but sometimes he looks at Cathal with such intensity, you would think he is willing himself to follow him... and he is not that far. Because he is very clearly attempting to emulate the Big Bro in the house. For example, look at this, filmed only a few days ago by the Mammy, when the lure of Cathal’s garage was simply too much to resist, and when sitting still against the green pillow was not an option…




We have been wondering for a while now which of the two will be the first to walk and run around freely. And right now I still would not hazard a guess. But one thing is for sure, they are encouraging each other, and pulling each other along. God help their parents by the time both of them walk and run around!
;-)



One last little thing I wish to share here, two photos I took on Friday evening, after putting Cathal to bed (he fell asleep in my arms as I went through “our” ritual, singing him a French lullaby).

One very tired little boy, one very tired cat...

(hmmmm, no place like Mammy and Daddy's bed!)

... and one very tired big brother.

All so sweet!

As easy as putting one foot in front of the other

It seems simple doesn’t it? At age 16, I found myself standing holding the hands of the physiotherapist who was in front of me, and wondering “how in the name of God did I do this before?” Following an accident, several months of immobilisation, and eventually extensive knee surgery, I simply did not know how to walk. My brain could not tell my wasted muscles to move. I had managed to stand up with a lot of pulling and prompting, I had enough balance to remain standing on my own, but the mechanics of “lift foot - move forward – put down foot” had become alien to me. It took several sessions to reconnect the brain-nerves-muscle communication flow and eventually walk again. And several months before I could run again – which I eventually did with the help of my father who held my hand and pulled me along a beach every day of a month summer vacation… Oh the teenage embarrassment of this!

I was reminded of this recently watching a video of Mark Pollock on the internet, and then again during his recent interview on the Late Late Show, where in the Project Walk Gym he is on a treadmill, held up right but a strange contraption, and two people, one on each side, are lifting his feet and mimicking the walking movement. Of course, in Mark’s case, paralysis is the issue, and his condition is severe. But this goes to show that for some people putting one foot in front of the other is not as easy as it seems.

A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed for the first time Cathal’s attempt at a “one-hand-holding-only” walk. His knees and ankles joints have weak ligaments, and at 3 years of age walking is still a major challenge for him. Standing up if fine, walking holding with 2 hands for a short distance is just alright, but any thing else is a major effort of balance, and requires great focus. And courage: I would not like to find myself attempting a room-crossing feeling all wobbly. It must be similar to trying to walk on a tight rope, even if only a few inches from the floor. So when I saw him holding on to his dad’s hand, and slowly, gingerly, purposefully, crossing the sitting room, going down the hall, negotiating the length of the front garden, crossing the road and finally reaching the car, I felt quite emotional.

Because in those few minutes I was reminded of Cathal’s difference: Nothing is simple for him, nothing is easy, nothing can be taken for granted. But I was also struck by his determination and that of his parents. It may take time, but with therapy, love and hard work, Cathal will walk, and run, on his own, like any other child. He just needs a little more time.

Ironically I took up walking after Cathal’s birth, and because of him will do my third Mini Marathon on June 6th. Unlike Cathal, my training this year has gone haywire through a series of uncontrollable circumstances. But, like Cathal, I am determined to do it and pass the finish line. I will not beat my own personal World Record this year, but I will get that medal. And the Down Syndrome Centre will get a few Euros as a result. All I need to do on the day is put one foot in front of the other.




NB: If you would like to sponsor me as I attempt to jog-walk-crawl the Women’s Mini Marathon on the 6th June, and give some much needed fund to the the wonderful organisation that is the Down Syndrome Centre, you can do so here.

Thank you.